Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Path of Justice
by Kiiroi Senko
Summary: Kira is forced into a war, but he's not fighting alone. There are many on both sides who also wish to end the cycle of hatred. But there are figures who will stop at nothing to carry out their ambitions... even if it leads to humanity's destruction.
1. Phase 1: False Peace

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Mobile Suit Gundam SEED or anything associated with it. Sunrise does… The OCs Christopher Dante, Elizabeth Dante, Johanna Dante, Nick Dante, Saul Kessel, the GAT-X302 Raven, and the GAT-X204 Surge are the intellectual property of, and thus belong to, Akatsuki Leader13. The GAT-X308 Guardian belongs to Maileesaeya. Also, many of these scenes were borrowed with permission from Akatsuki Leader13's **_**Gundam Seed: A Retelling**_** and Maileesaeya's **_**Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Dauntless**_**. I do own Leon Vanyel and the GAT-X209 Sentinel.**

* * *

Phase One: False Peace

January 25th, C.E. 71

* * *

In the vicinity of the civilian colony Heliopolis

ZAFT _Nazca_-class destroyer _Vesalius_, Pilot Ready Room

Athrun Zala sighed as he pulled on the gloves of his pilot suit. Without a doubt, this mission was absolutely insane and one that was most likely going to result in a diplomatic crisis with the neutral nation of Orb.

Athrun shook his head. Why was Orb helping the Alliance to begin with? Wasn't Orb the country that continuously held up its ideals of neutrality as a barrier that kept it isolated from either side of the war? Why, then, were they now aiding the Earth Forces in developing their own prototype mobile suits? It didn't make sense at all.

"What's wrong, Athrun?" Yzak Joule asked. Athrun turned to face his silver-haired teammate and self-proclaimed rival.

"Yzak…" the ultramarine-haired pilot muttered, idly wondering what his teammate was going on about.

Yzak raised an eyebrow questioningly. "You look nervous," he commented. "That's so unlike you."

Saul Kessel looked up from where he was fiddling with his hacking equipment, his brown eyes half-obscured by locks of messy black hair. It wasn't much of a secret that Saul Kessel was the laziest, most laid-back member of the entire Le Creuset Team. It was something that just came naturally to him as part of his temperament, much to the chagrin of his parents and older sister.

"Let him be nervous," he said lazily. "Are you saying you're not worried even when you know you're about to sneak into potentially hostile territory?"

Dearka Elsman smirked at Saul. "Sneaking into Heliopolis is going to be too easy," the blond Coordinator said. "The possibility that we would launch an attack hasn't occurred to them in their wildest dreams." He gave Athrun a slightly mocking smile. "You're not afraid of people like _them_, are you, Athrun?"

"That sort of attitude can get you killed, Dearka," Rusty Mackenzie said. "You shouldn't be so overconfident about this."

"Heh… chickens can stay behind if they like," Dearka replied.

"That's enough, Dearka!" came the voice of Nicol Amalfi. "This is a dangerous and important mission! We can't let our guard down simply because Orb is a neutral nation!"

"I agree with Nicol," came the voice of Leon Vanyel, the Le Creuset Team's seventh and final Red Coat. His piercing, icy blue-eyed gaze wandered over each of his teammates as he took a few steps towards them, his long, spiky golden-brown hair tied back into a ponytail that swayed along with his movements while several locks were left loose to almost artfully frame his features. "This mission could theoretically decide the course of the rest of the war. We can't afford to be careless or sloppy!"

"Nicol and Leon are absolutely right," a new voice cut in, drawing the attention of the seven pilots. They turned towards the door, watching as their enigmatic White Coat commander, the masked Rau Le Creuset, stepped in.

"Commander Le Creuset…" Yzak said, his features giving off an expression of slight surprise.

"This mission is of great significance," the masked commander continued. "The Earth Forces have been secretly developing new mobile suits at Heliopolis. It is our mission to capture them… or to destroy them."

Rau looked over each of his Red Coats, a bit of pride swelling through him. They were young, yes, but they were also some of the most brilliant pilots to have come out of the ZAFT Military Academy. Indeed, this mission was in good hands. "The results of this mission could greatly impact future battles… it could possibly even decide the course of the rest of this war."

He gave his pilots a slight nod of confidence. "The fate of ZAFT rests on your young shoulders," he said. "We're counting on you." With that, the masked commander saluted.

The seven Red Coats snapped to attention, saluting crisply as one, a testament to their excellent training.

"Yes, sir! For the glory of ZAFT!" they said resolutely… proudly. Yes, they were the best ZAFT had to offer. Anything but success was not an option for them.

Rau lowered his hand, his pilots following a moment later. "I wish you all the best of luck. I hold very high expectations for you all," he said, before turning on his heel and leaving the seven pilots to their preparations.

The seven Redcoats quickly turned back to their individual lockers and made their final preparations, strapping on jetpacks and holstering combat gear of all types, from firearms to explosives.

Unlike the rest of the team, who were arming themselves with standard-issue assault rifles, Leon looked over the tray of equipment he'd requisitioned for an operation like this: a set of throwing knives holstered on his right forearm, a razor sharp, fifteen-centimeter knife that went into a sheath on his left forearm, a pair of handguns holstered on his thighs, and a submachine gun holstered on his utility belt. Like the rest of the infiltration team, he also carried a variety of hand grenades for the likely event that they needed to blow something up on their way in.

Facing a small mirror inside his locker, Leon jerked his right arm forward, springing one of the throwing knives from the revolving holster and into his grip, the tip pointed at his reflection in the mirror. Satisfied, he looked the weapon over, nodded, and slid the weapon back in, the sheath locking the blade in place. He jerked his left arm forward, caught the knife as it launched itself into his waiting hand, and familiarized himself with the grip he had to use on his preferred weapon. He repeated the move two more times, getting similar results, and replaced the weapon before he nodded to himself.

Yzak looked at Leon, watching as the golden-brown-haired pilot practiced drawing each and every one of his weapons, his movements becoming sharper and more precise with each repetition.

"Are you sure you're going to be fine with just that?" he asked, his tone betraying a combination of amusement and mild annoyance. "I mean, having only a submachine gun and a pair of handguns isn't going to do you much good in a firefight."

Dearka chuckled. "C'mon, Yzak, you remember how combat training at the academy went," he said, a grin lighting up his face. "Leon wiped the floor with anyone—even our instructors. He was so good that no one wanted to even get near him. Please don't tell me that you don't remember what happened the one time you actually tried to fight him."

The other Red Coats chuckled at that—Yzak, eager to get one up over everyone else, had challenged Leon during one of their practical exams. Needless to say, it hadn't ended well for the silver-haired pilot. The only question people had been asking was whether Yzak was brave, insane, or both, because Leon was an exceptional combatant in close quarters combat, well above even the standard that Coordinators normally aspired to.

Yzak cringed as he recalled the memory. "Shut up, Dearka," he said, noticing that Dearka's grin was growing ever bigger, infuriating him even further. "I wasn't in the right frame of mind when we fought – of course I lost."

Dearka's grin looked ready to split his face if it got any wider, but Saul beat the blond Coordinator to the punch. "Just challenging him proves you weren't in the right frame of mind," Saul said. "I mean, who the hell is crazy enough to take on _Leon_ in personal combat?"

"What was that?!" shouted the silver-haired Redcoat, getting some chuckles from Dearka.

"Whoa, easy there, Yzak. With all this shouting, it's no wonder your hair's already white," Leon suddenly said, not stopping his practice swings and draws for a moment. Dearka, Nicol, Saul and Rusty looked ready to laugh out right as they left the room, not wanting to have Yzak's ire directed at them.

Yzak scowled, and was about to grind out a reply when Athrun stepped in.

"All right, that's enough," he said. "Save the bickering for _after_ we finish the mission."

Yzak measured Athrun's stare, and found the ultramarine-haired Redcoat meeting his gaze openly. Yzak simply grunted as he turned away and slung his rifle over his shoulder. Without another word, the silver-haired Coordinator shoved his helmet on and stalked out after Dearka and Nicol.

Athrun's shoulders sagged in relief, definitely glad that he was able to placate his fiery teammate's anger for now.

"That temper of his is going to get him into trouble with the wrong people someday…" Athrun murmured, picking up his own helmet.

"It certainly might, but the same thing will happen to you if you keep speaking your mind so openly," Leon saod, his helmet in his right hand as he shut his locker with the other. The golden-brown-haired pilot turned, and Athrun was quite surprised to see a troubled expression on his features. "I agree with what you think about Yzak… but that doesn't make saying it any more right, even if you _do_ say it as quietly as you can. People have good ears, and things could quickly get out of hand if the wrong person hears you saying something you shouldn't."

Athrun nodded. "Right… I'll keep that in mind," he said. "Thanks, Leon."

"It's no problem," Leon replied nonchalantly as he tucked his ponytail into his pilot suit's collar. His troubled expression disappeared, leaving an amused smile to take its place. "Still… I _do_ think Yzak should go get some anger management," he added, laughing lightly at his own words.

Athrun sighed. "Maybe you should listen to your own advice, Leon," he said as he pulled his helmet on.

"Maybe I should," Leon replied as he walked out, clear amusement dancing in his crystal blue eyes. "Maybe… _just maybe_… I should."

* * *

A park inside Heliopolis

Kira Yamato sighed as he typed away at his laptop. Professor Kato had given him a lot of work to do, and the guy who he was supposed to be working with had decided about thirty minutes ago to take a break and had yet to resume working.

"You know, you could actually start working again," he said as he looked up from his work at the only other boy in the gazebo.

The other person, a Coordinator named Christopher Dante, was currently playing his guitar. Chris, as he preferred to be called, was sixteen years old and a few inches taller than Kira. He had grayish-green eyes and dark brown hair that was styled into short, slicked back spikes. He was always clad in very casual wear, as he was right now: blue jeans with a simple leather belt, a black t-shirt, and an open gray jacket. A pair of dog tags hung around his neck.

Kira had only known him for a couple of months, but was actually quite surprised when he first met him. Kira had heard rumors that Chris frequently picked fights with people, leading him to believe that Chris was a violent person. It was something that Kira would later learn was a misconception. Though he did get into fights, he had never seen Chris start a fight. Rather, all of the fights he did get into were in the defense of someone getting bullied or in self-defense.

"I could," Chris replied as he continued playing his guitar. "But you're so much better at this than I am."

"Professor Kato asked for both of us to work on this. So could you please get back to work?"

"Alright, alright. Tell you what. You finish that page you're on and then I'll take over for a while and you can take a break. Deal?"

"Deal," Kira replied as he resumed his work.

As Kira continued to type furiously and Chris simply plucked at the strings of his guitar, a news report suddenly interrupted the program Kira had left running on the side. Taking a look, Kira noticed that it was about the ZAFT invasion of Kaohsiung before he noticed Birdy landed on Chris's head.

"Birdy! Birdy!" the mechanical bird chirped from its new perch.

"Hey! Get off of there!" Chris shouted as he tried to brush Birdy off of his head.

Kira chuckled at the scene as he half-listened to the news report.

"Hey, Kira! Chris!" a voice shouted.

Both of them turned their heads to see Tolle Koenig, Miriallia Haw, and Elizabeth Dante, Chris' younger sister, approaching.

Elizabeth was a year younger than Chris, and, like her brother, was a Coordinator as well. She stood about an inch shorter than Mir, give or take a few centimeters. She had green eyes and light brown, almost dirty blond colored, shoulder length hair, a bit of a contrast to her older brother. Like her brother, she was fond of casual wear, currently clad in faded blue jeans and a bizarre purple and black striped sweater.

"Hi, guys," Kira greeted as they walked up to the gazebo.

"Yo, Tolle, Mir, Liz," Chris greeted as Birdy flew off his head and landed on Kira's shoulder.

"So this is where you two are hangin' out," Tolle said. "Professor Kato was looking for both of you."

"Don't tell me... he's got more work us to do for him?" Chris asked in an annoyed tone as he set aside his guitar.

"I think so," Mir replied. "He's asked us to bring you both to him right away."

Kira sighed. "We're not even done what he dumped on us yesterday."

"Yeah," Chris said in agreement. "Why can't the professor do some of this himself?!"

"Why are you complaining? Chances are you would have had Kira do most of it anyway," Elizabeth – or Liz, as she liked to be called – said as she sat down next to her brother.

"Well, he should give it to Kira. He's the tech savvy one," Chris said in his defense.

Tolle and Miriallia sat down beside Kira, watching the news broadcast on Kira's laptop.

"Looks like some heavy fighting in Taiwan now," Tolle commented as he watched the news.

"Yeah... Looks like ZAFT has its eyes on Kaohsiung and its mass driver, if they haven't already taken it over," Chris said as he started playing his guitar once more.

"Taiwan... That's not far from Orb. Will the homeland be safe?" Mir asked with concern.

"Don't worry. Orb is neutral. ZAFT isn't going to attack it. And the Earth Alliance isn't going to do anything, either. At least, as long as they don't lose Panama and Victoria," Chris answered. "But even then, Eurasia will keep the Atlantic Federation and those Blue Cosmos bastards from doing something crazy."

"Yeah... I have to say we're pretty safe," Liz said in agreement with her brother. "Especially here in Heliopolis. After all, why would anyone want to attack Heliopolis? We're neutral and there's absolutely nothing here."

* * *

Heliopolis, Block Six

"_We have now arrived at the Block Six Maintenance Hatch,_" said the comm. officer, alerting the Red Coats that they'd reached their mission point. Athrun looked to Nicol, who was nearest the hatch, and nodded.

Nicol nodded back before unsealing the hatch and opening it, giving the Le Creuset Team pilots an unobstructed view… of a decrepit colony block that definitely had seen better days. Athrun raised a hand and waved the team out the hatch.

Leon took the lead, being the team's infiltration expert, and descended down to the block's massive doors. Saul, Yzak and Dearka followed right behind him, with Athrun, Rusty and Nicol bringing up the rear of their squad. Behind them, two squads of Green Coat soldiers filed out of the other transport pod. While the success of the mission hinged on the Red Coats, it would amount to nothing if they all just went and got themselves killed. The Green Coats were there not just as a contingency plan in the case of stiff resistance, but also to safeguard the Red Coats and make sure that they reached their objectives.

As the last of the soldiers touched down on the surface, Saul cracked the block's entry codes before hitting the "Open" command. The massive doors shuddered as they opened, the roar of the loss of atmosphere combining with the doors creaking the whole way.

A slight smile crossed Leon's lips. "Charming," he said as he sprung his knife from its holster. "They made an effort to make sure we had a very warm welcome. Rust-bucket dirt crates for doors included."

* * *

Approximately ten minutes later

Heliopolis Interior

The Le Creuset Team silently proceeded through the bowels of Heliopolis, having already planted their high-explosive charges all around a hangar that housed a new Earth Forces warship. The first phase was done… and they were well into the second.

Yzak glanced at the timer on his forearm, bit back a curse, and called out to the man next to him. "Hurry up, Athrun! We're ten seconds behind schedule!"

"I got it!" replied the ultramarine-haired Redcoat.

Yzak smirked. "I can only imagine the looks of shock on their pacifist faces," he said as they turned another corner.

* * *

The _Vesalius_

Rau Le Creuset glanced at his watch and smiled. It was time. By now, his team should have successfully infiltrated Heliopolis, planted the explosives, and were ready for the second phase to begin.

"It's time," he told Frederik Ades, the captain of the _Vesalius_. Ades, on his part, nodded in reply before facing the bridge crew.

"Weigh anchor!" ordered Ades. "_Vesalius_ launch!"

The instant the _Vesalius_ and _Gamow_ moved towards Heliopolis, alarms went off in the Heliopolis's Dock Control room, in the bridge of the recently docked Earth Forces ship and in the hanger control room of the _Archangel_.

While Heliopolis scrambled its defenses, the crew of the _Archangel _prepared it for takeoff if needed. Suddenly, explosions tore the through the _Archangel_ hanger, killing the crew members in the hanger, the entire command crew and the pilots of the Earth Alliance's prototype mobile suits.

* * *

Morgenroete Factory District

Lieutenant Murrue Ramius braced herself as tremors from an explosion shook the colony.

"What the hell?! Did someone fire at the colony?!" Nick Dante shouted as the tremors subsided.

"I don't know! But we have to get the G-Weapons to the _Archangel_, now!" she replied to the Morgenroete crew chief.

"The Surge, the Blitz, the Buster and the Duel are all ready to go! But we need more time to prep the other five and the Striker Packs for transport!" Chief Dante replied.

Dante turned to a pair of Morgenroete crew members. "Mendez, Carter, take your crews and get those four machines out of here and to the _Archangel_!"

"Aye, chief!" the two men answered.

He then turned to several other Morgenroete workers. "Jenkins, Riley, Johanna, get the rest of the crews and the remaining teams and get those machines ready for transport!"

The two men nodded and quickly went about their tasks while Johanna looked at her husband with concern.

Nick put his hands on his wife's shoulders. "I know you're worried about the kids, but they're smart. They're probably already on their way to a shelter as we speak. They'll be fine. We have a job to do. We'll find them when we're finished here, I promise."

Johanna weakly nodded and joined the rest of the crews working on the remaining mobile suits.

Dante turned to Lieutenant Ramius as he drew his sidearm. "If it's ZAFT out there... how did they find out about this?"

Murrue shook her head. "I have no idea. Though I don't think it matters anymore."

* * *

Professor Kato's Lab

Tremors shook the lab, sending various pieces of equipment falling to the ground.

_'What was that?'_ Chris wondered as he steadied himself by grabbing the edge of the desk that he, Kira, and Sai Argyle were at.

Once the tremors died down, he called out to the rest. "Is everyone alright?"

"I'm okay," Mir answered.

"Same," Liz replied.

"I'm fine," Tolle said.

The blond-haired guy that had been waiting for the Professor silently nodded. Honestly, Chris couldn't ever remember him having said a word this whole time.

"Did a meteor hit the colony?" Sai asked.

"I don't know, but we should get to the shelters just in case," Liz said.

"I have to agree with Liz," Chris said. "We don't know what's going on. The smartest thing to do would be to get to a secure location."

* * *

Elsewhere

"That's it," Yzak said smugly as he looked through his binoculars. "There they are… just like Commander Le Creuset told us."

"What? That if we prod them enough, they'll crawl out of the holes they were hiding in?" Dearka asked, chuckling.

"Of course," Yzak replied in a cocky tone. "After all, the Naturals are stupid and pathetic."

Leon sighed as Saul shook his head. "You really shouldn't underestimate your enemies, Yzak," Saul replied. "That can, and most likely will, get you killed. Remember, Naturals _did_ create Coordinators."

"Hmph. Natural lover…" Yzak shot back, prompting a bit of a laugh from Leon.

"Me? Hardly," Saul replied. "I don't take sides based on who's a Natural and who's a Coordinator. At the end of the day, we're all people here."

"All right, that's enough of the philosophical debate, you two," Leon said. "We still have a job to do. Miguel and Matthew will be here soon, so we'd better be prepared for when they _do_ get here."

A scarce few seconds later, two GINNs roared by overhead. They made a beeline for the nearby Morgenroete factory district and opened fire, destroying many of the military vehicles that were surrounding large trailers - trailers which the Red Coats assumed would be carrying the prototype mobile suits.

The ZAFT ground troops took the GINNs as their cue and activated their jetpacks, flying towards the three trailers.

"Our targets are in those trailers! Ignore everything else!" Yzak said over the comm. line. "Destroy anything you can't carry!"

"Intel said there were supposed to be seven mobile suits… but there are only four here," Leon said as he sprang a throwing knife from his forearm holster and tossed it. The blade struck true, sinking deep into a man's neck. "The remaining suits must be in the factory district!"

"Leon, Rusty and I will take the second squad and continue on to the factory!" Athrun called out. "Yzak, we'll leave these four to you."

"Alright. Don't screw up, Athrun!" Yzak called out before turning to the troops remaining with him. "Listen up! When you manage to take those machines, make sure you disarm the self-destruct first!"

Yzak, Dearka, Nicol, Saul and the first squad of Green Coats landed near the first trailer and quickly wiped out the remaining guards before advancing forward with only one of their own lost in the initial firefight.

"Nicol! Dearka! Saul!" Yzak shouted. "Hurry up and take the enemy mobile suits!" Saul made a quick dash forward and leaped into the side door of the first trailer, allowing the rest of the team to advance further.

"I got this one!" Saul shouted as he began hacking the locks of the hatch. "You guys get the other three!"

_'Alright... time to see what Orb and the Earth Forces have come up with.'_

* * *

Elsewhere

More tremors shook the building as the students from Professor Kato's lab reached the elevators and stairwell.

"What is going on here?" Chris asked, addressing no one in particular.

"Let's worry about getting out of here first. We can worry about that later," Sai answered as he pushed the elevator call button.

The second he did, the power failed.

"Well, it looks like we're taking the stairs," Tolle said as he opened the door to the stairwell.

They were greeted by the sight of other people were climbing the stairs towards the surface and shelter pods.

"Hey! Do you guys know what's going on?" Tolle asked them.

"We're under attack by ZAFT," a Heliopolis worker said. "There are mobile suits inside the colony."

"What?!" Chris shouted in disbelief. "Why the hell is ZAFT attacking us?!"

Suddenly, the blond haired guy that had been waiting for Professor Kato took off down a hallway in the opposite direction from the shelters.

"Hey, where are you going? Wait! Come back!" Kira shouted as he chased after the guy.

"Kira!" Tolle shouted at his friend.

"I'll go after them, you guys head to the shelters. We'll meet you there!" Chris said as he took off after the two before anyone could object. Liz followed her brother without hesitation.

"Liz! Go back and stay with the others!" Chris shouted back at his sister.

"No way, Chris! I'm not going to let you go off alone like this! Who knows what you might get into!" Liz countered as she caught up to her brother.

Chris sighed. "Fine, but don't leave my side, okay?"

It didn't them long to catch up with the two of them. Unfortunately, the second the siblings did catch up with them, part of the hallway behind them collapsed, sending the group stumbling to their hands and knees.

"You're a girl!" Chris heard Kira shout.

Chris looked up to see that the person he thought was a guy was, indeed, a girl. Her hat had been blasted off by the shock, leaving her long blonde hair to drop down and frame beautiful feminine features and amber eyes.

"Yeah. What the hell did you think I was?!" she asked rudely, an indignant blush on her features at the notion of her being a male.

Kira, looking embarrassed, weakly replied in his defense. "I...ah...just thought that-"

Another tremor shook the building, interrupting him.

"I think we should get out of here… now," Chris said as he picked himself up.

I agree," the girl said. "You three go back. I need to check on something… by myself."

"Are you kidding?! The entire hallway has completely collapsed! We can't go back that way!" Chris said.

"Yeah, there's no way for us to go back now..." Kira said. "But there should be more shelters in the factory district. C'mon!"

* * *

Morgenroete Factory District

Leon led Athrun and the squad of Green Coats around the building's perimeter. They had, for the most part, managed to avoid any combat, partly thanks to the distraction caused by Miguel and Matthew's GINNs, and also thanks to the roundabout route they had taken to ensure they weren't detected.

They were now at a weakly guarded side entrance, the Earth Forces soldiers no doubt waiting for them at the main gate.

Athrun quickly cracked the codes of the door, opening it wide enough for himself and Rusty to both toss in a couple of grenades.

A few seconds later, several explosions tore through the hangar, along with the blinding light of a flash bang.

"Go, go, go!" Athrun shouted. The ZAFT soldiers charged into the warehouse, guns blazing.

* * *

Elsewhere

"Hmm… how did the Earth Forces develop beam weapons before we did?" Yzak questioned. His features betrayed his apparent surprise. "All things considered… these mobile suits are very impressive… even if they were developed by Naturals."

He opened a comm. channel. "Dearka, how's yours?"

"_Looks all right to me,_" the blond Coordinator replied.

"Saul?"

"_Ready to move, Yzak,"_ the lazy hacker replied.

"Nicol!"

"_One more moment, please…_" Nicol said, furiously typing away. "_Reformatting NavData… AppsData activated!_"

The GAT-X102 Duel, the GAT-X103 Buster, the GAT-X207 Blitz, and the GAT-X204 Surge stood up from their trailers.

"All right… Athrun, Rusty, and Leon should have no problem getting the other two…" Yzak said.

"_Let's go and give 'em back-up with these suits!_" Nicol said. Yzak chuckled at that.

"Hmph… that won't be necessary!" he said cockily. "Surely they can take care of themselves!"

"_But…_"

"Our mission is to deliver these units to Commander Le Creuset _undamaged_," Yzak continued. "Wouldn't you agree, Nicol?"

"_Yes… of course…_" Nicol replied quietly.

"_Not to mention that this crappy OS isn't battle-ready yet,_" Dearka said. "_Just moving around is a big deal!_"

* * *

Morgenroete Factory District

Athrun fired off another burst of rounds at an armed Morgenroete employee. The man fell, blood immediately beginning to pool around him.

"Athrun, we have a bit of a problem," Rusty shouted as he crouched behind some cover. "We've got a _lot_ more than just two mobile suits – there are _five_ here!"

"What?!" Athrun's expression was one of surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"Take a look around," Leon said. Athrun glanced around, but found no trace of the other Red Coat. "How many mobile suits do you see?"

Athrun crouched behind some cover and quickly looked around. He hadn't paid careful attention to it before, but he realized that Rusty and Leon were right in saying there weren't just two mobile suits in the hangar. There were indeed _five_.

"Oh, shit…" he muttered. Had Intelligence screwed up? Or had Commander Le Creuset overlooked something when he was reviewing the data he'd received from the ZAFT operative here?

_This is not looking good_, he thought. _How could we have screwed up _this _badly?_

Gritting his teeth, he barked out orders. "We have to destroy the machines we can't steal!" he shouted. "Everyone just take whatever you can reach! If you don't think you can get one out of here, at least try and get into it and activate the self-destruct sequence!"

Rusty rose up, firing again, but was suddenly hit in the chest by a burst of machine gun fire. He dropped to the ground, his eyes staring emptily as blood poured from his wounds.

"RUSTY!" Athrun cried out.

* * *

When Chris, Kira, Liz and the blond girl reached the factory district, they found a war zone. Armed Morgenroete employees and Heliopolis security forces were fighting off ZAFT soldiers around five mobile suits.

The mobile suits were unlike anything Chris had seen before. ZAFT's mobile suits tended to bulky and simple looking things while these ones were slimmer and more elegant. They reminded him of sci-fi versions of ancient samurai warriors.

"Father, I knew it! You betrayed us all!" the girl cried out as she collapsed to her knees, bringing Chris from his thoughts.

Suddenly, an armed female Morgenroete employee spun around and aimed her rifle at them.

"C'mon!" Kira shouted as he grabbed both Chris' and the girl's arms and started running. "We have to get out of here!"

They quickly reached the nearest shelters. Two of them had red lights over the door, indicating that they were full. But the third had a green light over the door, signaling that there was still room in that shelter.

Kira pressed the call button and a voice came over the intercom.

_"Is there someone out there?"_ the voice asked.

"Yes. My friends and I need to get in. Please open the door," Kira answered.

_"Friends? As in more than one?"_

"Yes."

_"Sorry but we're full to capacity as it is. Try the shelters in the left block."_

"There are two girls with us," Chris said. "At least take them."

The man sighed over the comm and said, _"Okay, but we only have space for one."_

The door opened and Chris and Kira looked at each other. Chris wanted to push Liz in, while Kira was torn between pushing Liz in or the blond girl.

Liz made the decision for them, grabbing the other girl by the arm and pushing her in.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Let me-!" the rest of her protests were silenced when the door closed, sealing the shelter.

"Come on you two, let's get going!" said Liz, grabbing the two by the arm and pulling them with her. Kira and Chris simply looked at each other with mirrored expressions as Liz dragged them off.

They quickly ran back to the warehouse. They were halfway across the catwalks when they spotted a ZAFT sniper on another catwalk, aiming at the woman that had pointed a gun at them earlier.

"Look out! Behind you!" Kira shouted.

The woman spun around and fired at the sniper, killing him.

"CHRIS! LIZ! KIRA! What the hell are you three doing here?" the voice of Chris's aunt, Johanna Dante, called out from on top of one of the mobile suits.

"Don't worry about us! We're heading to the shelters in the left block!" Chris shouted back to his aunt.

An instant later, an explosion came from the left block.

"All of you! Get down here now!" the woman Kira had saved ordered.

"Doesn't look like we have much of a choice," Chris said. "Now the question is, how are we gonna get down there?"

"I've got an idea," Kira replied right before he leaped over the railing and onto the middle-left mobile suit that the woman was on.

"I know I'm gonna regret this," Chris muttered before jumping off the other side of the catwalk and onto the machine his aunt was on.

Liz scanned the area, and spotted her uncle on a suit next to the one Johanna was on, promptly jumping down from the catwalk onto that one.

Chris landed on his target machine's left shoulder a little sore, but otherwise all right.

"What's going here?! Why is ZAFT attacking us?!" he shouted as his aunt fired off rounds from a pistol at a ZAFT soldier.

"Long story! Basically, ZAFT wants the machines we've been building!" Johanna replied as she fired the last rounds in her handgun, killing the soldier.

"Isn't that a treaty violation?" Chris asked.

Johanna was about to reply when an explosion tore through a part of the warehouse. Flames quickly spread across the warehouse.

"Damn! This place isn't gonna last much longer!" she said. "Get in the mobile suit! We need to get out of here!"

Chris nodded. The whole warehouse was going up in flames. He quickly scrambled into the cockpit, followed by his aunt.

* * *

As Liz landed on the mobile suit her uncle was on, Nick got hit by a burst of fully automatic fire from a ZAFT soldier, though his return fire killed the soldier.

"Uncle Nick!" Liz cried, running over to him. Nick, blood running from his mouth as he lay dying on the machine, reached up and grabbed Liz's shoulder.

"Get… this machine out of here Liz," he choked out through the blood. Tears ran down Liz's face. "Don't let ZAFT have it…" Nick trailed off as his arm went limp and his eyes closed.

Tears still running down her face, Liz did as she was told, and jumped into the mobile suit's cockpit.

* * *

On the machine Kira had landed on, he and a ZAFT Red Coat with a combat knife stared at each other in shock.

"Athrun?" Kira breathed.

"Kira?" Athrun asked, incredulous. Athrun's stance slacked, and Kira stood up, putting his eye level almost even with the blue-haired soldier across from him. The brunette woman lifted her gun, aiming it at Athrun, who jumped back, evading the two haphazard shots. The woman stood up and knocked Kira into the cockpit of the mobile suit before dropping herself in.

* * *

Leon sprinted across the hangar, leaping forward towards cover as the last remaining Morgenroete employee fired at him. He took hold of another throwing knife and twisted his entire body, using the momentum to toss the dagger. The man froze as the weapon found itself embedded in his chest. He stumbled for a moment, before he fell over.

As Leon picked himself up and scanned the area, he saw the cockpits of three machines close.

_'Dammit, whoever is in those machines definitely isn't one of us... otherwise they'd have let the rest of us know. We also lost Rusty in all this… man, did we screw up big time...'_ he thought. Another explosion tore through the factory, separating the ZAFT troops from the three commandeered mobile suits. As Leon began backing towards the remaining two machines, one of the surviving ZAFT soldiers called out to him.

"Leon, we have to get out of here before this place blows! Forget the remaining machines and take that last one!" he shouted. Leon muttered a curse under his breath and sprinted to the last machine's cradle. The Red Coat leaped up, taking hold of a rung to swing himself up to the top of the ladder. He quickly ran towards the mobile suit's torso and jumped into the cockpit, grabbing the handlebar jutting out from the hatch to drop into the seat.

Dropping into the cockpit, he immediately started up the mobile suit's OS, going through the system's start-up sequence as fast as he could, bypassing anything that wasn't needed to start it up. His mind instantly went into overdrive, processing information as fast as it scrolled up on screen. He swore up a storm this time as he looked over the unit's spectacular failure of an OS. He was so distracted with the OS that he hadn't realized that he'd just let loose a stream of colorful expletives over an open channel.

_"Leon! Are you okay?"_ Athrun asked over the comm, his voice easily portraying the surprise he was feeling at hearing his teammate curse, when in fact he was actually the one who never lost his cool, even under pressure.

"Yeah, no worries. I just want to have a little talk with the person who was designing this thing's OS," Leon replied, almost instantly reigning in his initial displeasure. "Let's get out of here before we get roasted."

A massive explosion tore through the warehouse as the GAT-X303 Aegis, the GAT-X209 Sentinel, the GAT-X302 Raven, the GAT-X105 Strike, and the GAT-X308 Guardian broke through their cradles and stood up.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, this is my rehash on Phase One. It's pretty much the same thing, but I've decided to clean up the dialogue and all.**

**Well, like Maileesaeya and Akatsuki Leader13 probably did when they wrote their Phase Ones, I love watching ZAFT look in horror at their crap intel. I've also decided to go with removing Kuzzey... over-all, I don't think he contributed anything to the series besides being an extra person to draw and animate.**

**Anyways, just let me know what you think... about the chapter, and the new OC I've added, Leon. He'll be a surprising one, but that's all I can say for now.**


	2. Phase 2: Its Name is Gundam

**Author's Note: I think I don't need to repeat myself with the disclaimer. It still stands, but writing it over and over again will piss me off eventually, especially as it gets longer and longer. So I'll just place a new disclaimer when something new comes up in the course of the story that I haven't mentioned in any of the previous disclaimers. That sound good? Good. ^^**

* * *

Phase Two: Its Name is Gundam

January 25, C.E. 71

* * *

Heliopolis, Morgenroete Factory District

As the warehouse finally collapsed from the inside out in a massive fireball, five distinct gray-colored mobile suits shot out from the ruined building, trailing smoke, but otherwise... miraculously undamaged. Their movements were erratic and unbalanced, at best. Two of them were slow and shaky, like they were being piloted by trainees who had little to no experience whatsoever in piloting mobile suits. The two captured units among them were better off, as they landed fairly smoothly, and managed to stand tall after doing so.

The fifth landed, seemingly smooth and under control… before it tumbled off-balance and collapsed to the ground in a sprawled heap.

"What the hell?" muttered Liz, her voice still cracking slightly, a sign that she was still affected by the death of her uncle. She glanced over the warning readouts spilling over the main screen… and realized quite quickly that several of the control components of the mobile suit, the GAT-X308 Guardian, were incomplete or outright missing, and the battery was extremely low capacity, severely limiting its operational time.

_'Great... so much for that...'_ she thought as she frantically tried to get the mobile suit on its feet, with little success.

As Liz struggled with the uncooperative state of the Guardian, the GAT-X303 Aegis and the GAT-X209 Sentinel pulled away from the other three machines. Soon after, a pair of GINNs landed near the five prototypes, their rifles raised.

Within the cockpit of the Raven, Chris watched his aunt as she struggled to operate the mobile suit. Though he knew they were still in danger, he couldn't help but feel concerned about Kira, Liz and the others, wherever they might be.

"Damn. They still haven't perfected the OS yet. This has to be a joke. How did they ever expect this thing to be combat ready with this kind of OS?!" Johanna said in frustration.

Chris couldn't help but agree with her. The operating system was clearly of an inferior design... which was very bad for them, if those GINNs decided to attack. Unfortunately, Chris had a feeling that the odds of them _not_ getting into a fight were non-existent.

* * *

At the same time, within the Aegis, Athrun was going over his machine's specs along with reconfiguring the OS to better suit his Coordinator abilities. The moment he took a look at the OS, he wasn't as surprised anymore about Leon swearing over an open channel.

_"Athrun! Leon! Do you read me?"_ came Miguel's voice over the comm as his and Matthew's GINNs landed.

"We're fine, Miguel," Athrun replied over the comm, but choked on his next words. His teammate was quick to notice, and took over the situation report.

_"Our intel was way off, if the number of machines standing right here is any indication,"_ Leon said. There was a slight pause, as if he was gathering the courage to say what Athrun couldn't.

_"... We... we also lost Rusty,"_ he managed to add in a strained voice, clearly affected by his friend's death.

_"Rusty?! Damn it... alright, Athrun, Leon. You two take those machines and get back to the _Vesalius_,"_ Miguel ordered. _"We'll take care of these three machines. A couple of Naturals can't beat us, even if they have their own mobile suits."_

Leon, who was performing his final adjustments to the Sentinel's OS, stopped typing.

"Hey, hey, Miguel. Don't get too cocky. These things aren't just your run-of-the-mill mobile suits! Don't underestimate their capabilities!" he admonished, hoping that he could talk some sense into Miguel before the senior pilot got himself killed.

_"Leon, don't worry about it. Miguel knows what he's doing. We should just get going,"_ Athrun said.

Leon sighed. He just hated it when nobody took his advice seriously.

"Fine. We'll leave it to you, then," he said before hitting the Sentinel's thrusters and heading towards the nearest exit, Athrun and the Aegis right behind him.

_'I just hope you guys have the common sense to withdraw if things get nasty,'_ he added mentally.

* * *

Meanwhile, as Johanna continued her struggle to get the Raven to move, Chris noticed the two stolen prototypes begin to withdraw towards the nearest exit.

_'Well, that just might help us out here,'_ he thought idly.

Suddenly, a woman's voice came over the comm system, jolting Chris out of his thoughts. "_Pilot of the X-302 Raven, identify yourself._"

"This is Johanna Dante of Morgenroete," Chris' aunt replied. "Lieutenant Ramius, is that you?"

"_Yes,_" Ramius answered. "_It's good to see that you managed to survive and get that machine out of there._"

"_Lieutenant Ramius, is Kira with you?_" she asked. Chris mentally hoped the answer was a 'yes'.

"_The boy? Yes, he's here with me._"

_'Thank god,'_ Chris thought to himself. He had lost enough friends because of this war.

Then Ramius spoke over the comm system again. This time, it was directed at the other unit that was in a sprawled heap on the ground.

"_Pilot of the Guardian, identity yourself."_

"_Um… this is Liz Dante,_" came the voice of Chris's sister, shocking Chris. "_I'm Johanna Dante's niece._"

"What?!" Johanna exclaimed, equally shocked to find out that her niece was in the pilot's seat of the remaining prototype. "Liz, what are you doing in there?! Where's Nick?"

What sounded like a choked sob was the first reply, and Chris felt an icy fist squeeze his heart. Call it premonition, but something bad happened. His fears became reality as Liz finally gave a coherent reply.

"_He's… he's dead..._" came the choked reply. Shocked, Johanna's control on the mobile suit slackened, and one of the GINNs' shots landed near the foot of the machine, sending it tumbling off-balance.

"_Damn it,_" Ramius remarked.

"No..." Johanna whispered. She blinked back tears, and shook her head, getting herself back under control. "Listen to me, Lieutenant Ramius. The operating systems on these two machines still aren't ready for a Natural like you or me to pilot, and the Guardian isn't even finished. Allow Kira to pilot the Strike."

"_What?!_" both Kira and Ramius said in disbelief.

"Kira's a Coordinator, just like my nephew. They should be able to handle these machines better than we can at the moment."

"_What?!_" Kira said again, his disbelief even more evident, if it was possible.

"_I cannot allow a civilian to pilot a top secret machine,_" said Ramius.

Suddenly, the two GINNs holstered their rifles, pulled out their swords and started running at the two active mobile suits, obviously deciding to get rid of the more immediate threats.

Johanna quickly hit a button on the console, activating the Raven's Phase Shift armor. Its body changed color from dull grays to a midnight blue tone accented by red trim as one of the GINNs raised its sword over its head. Johanna barely managed to raise the Raven's shield cannon to block the sword strike and push back the GINN.

"Damn it," Johanna cursed. "We don't have much time, Murrue. It's the only way to save these two machines."

Johanna then moved out of the seat and said, in a stern voice that allowed for no argument, "Get in."

Chris, deciding that following was probably the best way to give themselves a chance at survival, quickly sat in the vacated pilot's chair and began to experiment with the controls, all the while thinking,_ 'What the hell am I doing in this thing?!'_

* * *

"Move aside already!" Kira said angrily. Ramius' stubborn refusal to let him take over had nearly gotten his friends killed.

Relenting, Ramius finally did so, and Kira took the pilot seat. He pulled out the keyboard and begin typing away at lightning speed, one eye on the main monitor and the other on the GINN as it stood up and readied for another attack. He wasn't too worried about Chris and Johanna—if the machine they were in had the same sort of armor as the one he was in, they'd be fine.

As the GINN approached, Kira finished his first set of calibrations, and fired the head vulcans at the GINN, causing it to stumble as it stabbed forward. Kira deftly evaded, and punched the GINN in the face.

"Take the calibrations and reset the zero moment point and CPG," muttered Kira to himself, still with an eye on the GINN, but otherwise ignoring the machine entirely. _'Connect control module to quasi-cortex molecular ion pump. Rebuild neural linkage network, update metamotor cortex parameters. Restart feet forward control, transfer fuctions, correct for corrial asteviation, online.'_

Murrue watched in astonishment at the rapid pace of Kira's fingers, and at the miraculous transformation of the OS from a shoddy piece of programming into a working and highly efficient system.

The GINN stood up and fired at Kira with his rifle, shaking the mobile suit. Gripping the controls, Kira rocketed the prototype into the air, evading further fire.

"Weapons…" Kira muttered, typing at the keyboard. The offensive system screen came up, listing two head-mounted 75mm vulcan guns, and two hip-concealed assault knives as the only weapons it currently had.

"Armor Schneider?" Kira questioned incredulously. "That's all there is?"

Left with no other choice, Kira sprung the assault knives, grabbed hold of them, and closed on the GINN, which began to fire wildly.

"No, don't do it here!" cried Kira. "Stop it!" Kira ducked under fire from the GINN's machine gun, and stabbed forward with both knives into the GINN's neck, watching with some satisfaction as the GINN went limp.

* * *

Outside Heliopolis

_"Lieutenant La Flaga! The rest... is up to you...!"_ came the final transmission of the Hawk of Endymion's home base, the _Marseille III_, just before an explosion ripped it apart from bow to stern.

"Captain!" Mu shouted, but before he could do anything else, he noticed a white humanoid form burst out of the explosion on a beeline course for his Moebius Zero.

_"Now it's your turn... Mu La Flaga!"_ came a chillingly familiar voice.

"Rau? Rau Le Creuset?" Mu asked, but he knew the man's voice anywhere. Hell, he had a sixth sense for the man. It was _him_.

As Mu maneuvered his Zero around to try and get Rau's CGUE in his sights, a beep from his radar sounded through his cockpit.

"What? Enemy reinforcements?" he said, but the moment the main screen brought up a visual, his heart sank to his stomach.

"Those are... the X-209 and the X-303..." he breathed. ZAFT had captured both the Sentinel and the Aegis as well. They'd now captured _six_ of their prototype mobile suits.

* * *

Rau Le Creuset noticed the two new arrivals, and quickly checked his instruments. He found the signals from Athrun's and Leon's pilot suits coming from the two mobile suits and nodded to himself before he keyed his comm to a secure channel.

"Leon, Athrun, give me a status report," he ordered calmly.

_"Commander, Intelligence screwed up on this one. There are two models that weren't mentioned in any of the reports we've received,"_ Leon reported. Le Creuset grit his teeth. Someone was going to suffer for their blunder, but that was something to be saved for later. For now, he'd be stuck cleaning up the mess such a mistake made.

"I see... anything else?" Rau asked.

_"We... we lost Rusty. Miguel and Matthew stayed behind and are currently engaged in combat with two enemy mobile suits,"_ Athrun said. Rau nodded, more to himself than anyone else.

"And why is it that Miguel and Matthew are fighting enemy mobile suits when we have no idea about what their capabilities are?" he asked, his tone indicating his slight annoyance.

_"I tried to tell him that, Commander... but as always, _nobody_ ever takes my advice,"_ Leon replied, and Rau felt his annoyance grow a little bit more. He sighed before relaying his next orders.

"Alright. Leon, Athrun, you've done your jobs. Get back to the _Vesalius_ before anything happens to those two units. I'll go and back up Miguel and Matthew," he said, hitting his CGUE's thrusters and making for Heliopolis, with La Flaga's Moebius Zero right behind him.

* * *

Morgenroete Factory District, Heliopolis

"You're probably gonna have to rewrite the OS to better accommodate a Coordinator like yourself," Johanna said as her nephew moved the unresponsive machine.

"Oh great," Chris mumbled to himself as he pulled out the keyboard and began to rewrite the system.

But the GINN wasn't about to give Chris the time to do it. It lunged at him with its sword, with Chris barely sidestepping the attack.

"Damn it. I need more time," he said as he continued to type away while keeping an eye on the GINN.

The GINN swung its sword again and again at him. But each time, he dodged the blows. And Chris noted that the machine's movements as well as his own reactions were becoming quicker and smoother. The mobile suit's movements weren't perfect but definitely better than they was earlier. The pilot of the GINN was clearly getting angry as his swings were getting wilder and wilder, making it easier for Chris to avoid the attacks and rewrite the OS.

"This will have to do for now," he said to himself as he finished his typing.

He hadn't completely rewritten the OS, but he didn't have the time to do that while dodging attacks. But what he had gotten done was enough for him to properly pilot the machine without too much difficulty.

The GINN swung its sword in a downward arc. Chris sidestepped it and punched the GINN's head, sending it falling to the ground.

Chris took this momentary stop in the fighting to check on the machine's computer for its weapons.

_'Let's see...Igelstellung 75mm anti-air vulcan guns, beam sabers, and a dual 52mm hyper velocity shield cannon. Hmm… mobile armor mode? I don't think I'll be trying that one today...'_ Chris thought as he went over the machine's specs.

He was cut short as the GINN quickly got back onto its feet. He could imagine that the ZAFT pilot was getting pretty pissed by now. The GINN charged at him, its sword pulled back. The GINN pilot clearly wanted to destroy him and this mobile suit.

_'Well, let's try the Igelstellungs...'_ Chris thought as the distance between himself and the GINN decreased.

He squeezed the trigger and the two head-mounted Igelstellungs fired. The rounds did nothing to the GINN's armor but they did catch the pilot off-guard, forcing him to stop his charge.

The GINN sheathed its sword, drew its rifle and fired. Rounds struck the mobile suit, violently shaking it but the armor held.

_'Wow. This thing's armor must be quite strong if it can take bullets from a mobile suit rifle without any real damage. All right, let's see what this thing can do...'_ he thought.

He raised the machine's right arm, the arm outfitted with the mobile suit's shield cannon, and fired. A pair of high-speed projectiles streaked towards the GINN.

Unfortunately for Chris, the cannon's calibration was off. The first shot missed the GINN entirely, while the second shot severed the ZAFT mobile suit's right arm at the elbow. The GINN staggered back a few steps and took off into the air, fleeing Heliopolis.

Suddenly, there was a loud, nearby explosion. Chris looked around and spotted the Strike stumbling backwards from an explosion.

"KIRA!" he shouted.

To his relief, the Strike stayed standing and appeared to be relatively undamaged. The only sign of the other GINN was the flaming wreckage strewn around the ground.

The battle was over. For now.

Johanna keyed the comm. "Lieutenant Ramius, Kira, are you two alright?"

"_I'm fine,_" Kira answered. "_But that woman's injured and unconscious._"

"Okay," she said. "Liz? How about you?"

"_Yeah, I'm fine. Those guys pretty much ignored me, anyways,_" Liz said.

"Good," said Johanna. "There's a park not far from here. We'll head there and regroup. Got it?"

"_Got it,_" came the two replies in near unison.

Johanna then put her hand on Chris's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

For the first time, Chris realized that he was breathing heavily, sweating buckets and he had a death grip on the controls. He felt a little light-headed and scared but at the same time, he had this lingering sense of excitement, like he had just gotten off an intense amusement park ride. He let go of the controls and watched his hands slightly tremble for a moment.

He couldn't help but wonder how they had survived that battle. This was his first time in a mobile suit and yet he had managed to beat a trained ZAFT pilot while rewriting part of the OS.

His hand reached up and wrapped a hand around his grandfather's dog tags. His grandfather had always said that these dog tags were lucky and would protect the wearer. In the past, he had passed it off as has his grandfather being superstitious. Now, he wasn't so sure.

He nodded. "I'll be alright." He paused for a moment. "Hey, what's this machine's name?"

"It's the GAT-X302 Raven," Johanna answered. "The machine that Kira is in is the GAT-X105 Strike. Liz is in the GAT-X308 Guardian."

"The Raven, huh? So you made this thing?"

"Yes. But at the moment, I can't tell you much else. This is all supposed to be top secret."

"Okay. I understand," Chris replied.

He took the controls again and moved his machine to pick up the motionless Guardian before joining the Strike.

When they reached the park, the Raven gently set the Guardian down—with some help from the little bit of control Liz had—into a kneeling position, before kneeling down alongside the Strike. The three machines' Phase Shift armor deactivated with a hiss, and their cockpits opened up. At the same time—much to the surprise of everyone but Kira—Tolle, Sai, and Miriallia arrived.

"What are you guys doing here?" Chris shouted as he and Johanna climbed out of the Raven, Kira descending from the Strike's cockpit and Liz doing the same from the Guardian. "You're supposed to be in the shelters!"

"Sorry, guys," Mir replied. "But when we got outside, we kinda ended up in the middle of a battle between you and those GINNs."

"You guys were amazing! And those machines were awesome!" Tolle shouted like a kid in a candy store. "Where'd those machines come from? And-"

"Can we save the questions for later?" Johanna interrupted. "There's an injured person in the cockpit of the Strike and I'm gonna need some help carrying her out of the cockpit."

"What do you want us to do?" Kira asked.

"Kira, you, Tolle, and Sai, will help me get her out of the cockpit. Chris, I want you to get back in the Raven and finish rewriting the OS. ZAFT may have left, but it's likely that they'll be back. With the Guardian incapable of doing much of anything right now, you and Kira are the only ones who can sortie. Oh, and Kira, once we get Lieutenant Ramius out of the cockpit, I want you to do the same for the Strike."

"Actually, I finished rewriting the OS already," said Kira, scratching the back of his head almost sheepishly.

"What? Wow. That's amazing. I knew Coordinators had impressive abilities but... wow," Johanna remarked in amazement.

"What about the rest of us?" asked Mir.

"Just stay out of the way for now, so we can get this done faster," Johanna replied. "Okay, everyone, let's get to it."

Chris climbed back into the Raven's cockpit while Kira and the others went about their tasks.

Chris sighed as he sat down and pulled out the keyboard once again. He knew Kira was good at computers but the fact that he had completely rewritten the Strike's OS, while under attack no less, was unbelievable. He doubted that most Coordinators could do that.

He resumed rewriting the OS. He had to admit, this machine was impressive. And he was kind of curious about the full extent of the Raven's abilities. He almost wished that ZAFT would launch another attack just so he could see what it was really capable of.

Keyword there being 'almost'. If ZAFT did attack again, it would only endanger Heliopolis and its people.

A short while later, Johanna climbed into the Raven's cockpit.

"How's it coming?" she asked.

"Almost done," he replied. "How's the Lieutenant?"

"We treated her wound as best as we could. She's still unconscious, though."

"So, what now?" he asked.

"Well, the Guardian isn't completed yet, and the Strike is low on power from the battle, so I'm gonna go see if I can find a transport truck with one of the Striker Packs for the Strike."

"Striker Packs?"

"Basically, armaments and a battery recharge for the Strike," Johanna explained. "Unlike the Raven, and pretty much all the other units, the Strike has few built-in weapons. Instead, it can be equipped with various different weapon packs, allowing the machine to serve multiple roles on a battlefield. On the other hand, the Raven was designed primarily for space and atmospheric combat."

"Wow. That sounds quite impressive."

"Yes. The Strike is easily the most impressive and powerful of the prototypes we made. But I always preferred the Raven, the Guardian, and the Aegis."

"The Aegis?"

"That was the red machine from the warehouse."

"Oh. What's so special about this machine and those two?"

A grin spread across Johanna's lips. "They can all transform into mobile armors. When I was a child, I always loved the idea of a transforming robot. In fact, that's one of the reasons I fought to save the Raven from being scrapped after the accident."

"There was an accident?"

"Yes. Early in the construction of the Raven, there was an accident. Half of the crews working on it had died or were seriously injured. Afterwards, the higher-ups wanted to scrap the Raven and focus on the other units. Along with some of the others that had been working on these machines, I decided that we shouldn't discard the Raven just because of the accident. We argued that the Raven had for the most part, survived the accident and could be salvaged and that by abandoning it, all those who died would have died in vain. Eventually, they agreed to allow us to finish it."

"Ah," said Chris. "Hey, there is one thing that's been bothering me about all this."

"What?" she asked.

"Why did ZAFT attack us? Orb is neutral. Even if it was developing new weapons, that still isn't a reason to violate the treaty and attack Heliopolis."

"We violated the treaty," she said.

Chris instantly stopped typing. "What?"

"We worked on these machines with the Earth Forces. That injured lieutenant is an Earth Forces officer."

"Why would the Orb government do that? They wanted to stay out of war!"

Johanna shrugged. "Don't ask me. I'm not a politician. I just build these things."

Chris had never met the Lion of Orb, but his grandfather had on several occasions and always spoke highly of him. Athha had always spoken of maintaining Orb's neutrality, yet if he authorized building these mobile suits with the Earth Forces, then how could Orb stay neutral? What reason would he have for violating the treaty like that?

"Well, I'm going now. I'll be back in a little while," Johanna said as she climbed out of the cockpit. "Let's hope that the ZAFT forces have decided to leave rather than risk further damage to the colony by trying to capture these three machines."

He resumed his typing. He wondered what would happen now. These machines were clearly a top-secret project, and he doubted that the Earth Forces authorities would just let all of them walk away after seeing these things. It would be even worse in the case of Kira, himself, and to a lesser extent, Liz, since they had piloted these mobile suits. His aunt did work for Morgenroete, so that may help them out a little bit. Maybe she'd be able to convince them to let Liz and the others go, while he and Kira would help them make a better OS for these machines.

When he finished rewriting the OS, Chris decided to climb out of the Raven. As he stepped out of the cockpit, there was a gunshot followed by the Earth Forces officer yelling, "Get out of those machines!"

Deciding that he was not about to argue with an armed and very disgruntled military officer, Chris quickly climbed down from the Raven as Tolle, who had been in the Strike's cockpit, did the same.

"Stop! What are you doing?" shouted Kira. "They helped get you out of the cockpit and tended to your wound."

"I am grateful for your help," the Lieutenant said. "But these four machines are part of a top-secret military project. It isn't something civilians should be allowed to touch carelessly."

She motioned with her gun for everyone to get together in one group, which they quickly did. 'Never piss off the person with a gun' couldn't be more true right now.

"Now, tell me your names," she ordered.

"Sai Argyle."

"Miriallia Haw."

"Tolle Koenig."

"Elizabeth Dante."

"Chris Dante."

Kira defiantly glared at her for a moment. "Kira Yamato."

"Lieutenant Murrue Ramius. I'm an officer of the Earth Alliance Forces," Murrue said, introducing herself. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but I cannot allow any of you to leave."

"WHAT?" was everyone's response, expect for Chris, who had already expected this to happen.

"As I said, you have been exposed to a military secret and until I can reach the proper authorities and they can determine what to do with all of you, I cannot allow you to leave my sight."

"We're citizens of Orb. You can't boss us around," Tolle answered defiantly.

Chris, deciding to intervene before things got worse, shook his head. "In case you haven't noticed, Tolle, she's got a gun, and we don't. So you probably shouldn't antagonize her."

"You should listen to him. It will make things easier on everyone," Murrue said. "Now, where is Johanna Dante?"

"She left, saying that she was going to find one of the Striker Packs for the Strike," Chris replied.

"Good. That will speed things up a bit," she said as she lowered her gun. "Okay, Chris, Kira, I want one of you to get back in one of the mobile suits and get on the radio and try to contact any surviving members of the Earth Forces in Heliopolis."

"I'll do it," said Chris. "The Raven has more power than the Strike or Guardian do at the moment."

He climbed back into the cockpit of the Raven. He sat down and started up the mobile suit.

"This is the GAT-X302 Raven. Any members of the Earth Forces still in Heliopolis, please respond," he said over the radio.

No response. So he tried again. Again, no response. He couldn't help but wonder if there were any Earth Forces left alive in Heliopolis. He tried a few more times with no success.

Chris shut down the machine and stepped out of the cockpit. "I can't get anything! Either we're being jammed… or there's no one left to hear my calls!"

"Alright then, you can come down! We'll try again a little later!" Murrue said.

As Chris climbed back down, a large truck pulling a trailer pulled up. The truck stopped near the Strike and his aunt stepped out.

"Lieutenant Ramius, it's good to see you're up," she said as she walked towards them. "I got the Launcher Striker."

"Good. Let's get this thing hooked up," Murrue said.

"Kira, get back in the Strike while I get the Launcher Striker ready for you," Johanna said as she went back to the truck.

She stepped back into the cab of the truck and pushed a button on the dashboard. The trailer folded open revealing the Launcher Striker.

"Kneel down with the Strike's back facing the side of trailer."

Kira followed her orders, bringing the Strike next to the trailer.

"Okay. I'm gonna mount the entire unit on the-"

A loud explosion from above interrupted her. Everyone looked up. There was a ball of fire coming from a part of the central shaft of Heliopolis. A ZAFT CGUE emerged from the fireball, followed by an Earth Forces Moebius Zero.

"Chris! Get in the Raven, now!" Johanna shouted.

The second he had seen the ZAFT machine, Chris had already started running to the mobile suit. He quickly climbed into the machine and brought it online as Johanna started to mount the Launcher Striker on the Strike.

During this, the CGUE sliced off part of the barrel of the Zero's gun, rendering it helpless, and that same CGUE now had its eye set on the three machines on the ground.

Chris aimed the Raven's arm cannon at the CGUE and opened fire. But the CGUE effortlessly dodged every shot as it flew towards them.

_'Damn. This guy is good. Gonna have to try something different or we're all gonna die. Well, let's see what this thing can do in the air,'_ he thought as he hit the Raven's thrusters and got airborne.

Chris fired the Raven's cannon at the CGUE as it flew away from where the other two machines were. He had to distract the ZAFT machine long enough for the Launcher Striker to be mounted on the Strike and for Liz and the others to get away from the area.

Sure enough, the CGUE turned and began to fire at him as it dodged his energy shots.

_'Yes, that's right... follow the little birdie. Don't worry about the defenseless machines on the ground,'_ Chris thought, hoping the pilot would stay focused on him and the Raven.

Chris honestly didn't know how long he could hold out by himself against this machine. The pilot was clearly an experienced ace and he on the other hand, was piloting a mobile suit for the second time.

* * *

Rau Le Creuset was beginning to get annoyed by everything that had gone awry so far.

Actually, scratch that. He _was_ annoyed. Very, very annoyed. You could actually say that he was pissed.

Athrun and Leon had reported that not only had the Strike stayed in the hands of the Earth Forces, but that the supposedly scrapped eighth machine had been built and was still in their hands, along with another additional model they hadn't known about.

He had rendered that pest, Mu La Flaga, defenseless and had been about to destroy the three deactivated mobile suits, when the eighth machine, the GAT-X302 Raven if he recalled correctly, came online and started firing at him, trying to draw him away from the other two units. Another reason Rau was annoyed was because the Raven's pilot had succeeded in drawing him away.

After all, he couldn't exactly destroy the Strike and the unidentified machine while the active mobile suit was firing at him. Rau had to admit that the pilot had some natural skill, but it was painfully obvious that he was a rookie.

"You're pretty good with a gun, but let's see how you fair against a sword," he said over an open frequency as he switched from the CGUE's rifle to its sword.

* * *

Chris heard the ZAFT's pilot's comment over the radio, and knew his situation had just gotten worse.

The CGUE holstered its rifle in favor of drawing its heavy sword and charged. Chris quickly fired the Raven's arm cannons at the ZAFT machine, but the ace pilot simply maneuvered around Chris' shots and continued to close the distance, raising its sword and swinging it down when it reached optimum distance for melee combat.

At the last second, Chris blocked the sword with the shield part of the Raven's cannon while its left hand reached for the beam saber mounted on the Raven's left hip.

He drew the saber, activated it and slashed at the CGUE, but the ZAFT machine quickly parried the blow with its own sword. Chris blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected that outcome.

_'They've applied an anti-beam coating to the sword, haven't they?'_ he quickly surmised, but instantly pushed that thought aside. Now wasn't the time to think about that. Right now, he had a battle to fight.

Chris swung his saber again, aiming for the CGUE's left arm, hoping that he could get it to retreat before the situation grew any worse.

It wasn't to be as the ZAFT ace blocked the Raven's beam saber with his CGUE's sword once again.

The CGUE pushed the Raven back and struck, aiming for the joint of the Raven's right arm, where the Phase Shift armor wasn't applied.

Chris managed to deflect the CGUE's heavy sword, and the two pushed against each other in a deadlock for a moment before breaking apart. A few seconds later, they had clashed weapons and shields once again

The two machines would continue to exchange blows in this manner for a time. Every time Chris attacked, the CGUE effortlessly dodged, blocked or parried his attacks. Whenever the CGUE struck at the Raven, Chris barely managed to block the ZAFT ace's ruthless attacks.

_'Damn. This guy is really good. At this rate, unless Kira can lend me a hand, I'm not gonna last much longer...'_ he thought.

* * *

Aboard the _Archangel_

Ensign Natarle Badgiruel and the handful of surviving crew members that currently made up the bridge crew of the _Archangel_ rushed to get the ship online. They had been attacked by ZAFT, that much was certain. The captain, the command crew, the G-Pilots, and majority of the crew that had been outside the _Archangel_ when the bombs went off, were dead. And they had no idea what was going on outside of the hanger.

"All systems are green. We're ready to go," Chandra reported from his station.

Unfortunately, there was no way for them to open the hangar doors, even if they were still operational. The control systems for that were taken out in the blast. So, they were left with only one alternative. If there was no exit, they simply had to make one. And they had to do it the hard and explosive way.

"Take us out, maximum speed," ordered Natarle. "When the ship reaches maximum speed, fire the Lohengrins!"

A few seconds later, the _Archangel_'s massive thruster array activated, and it lifted off, breaking the cradles that had held it in place. The lowest portion of the warship's "legs" opened, revealing two massive particle cannons that began to charge. As the ship neared the hangar doors, its two powerful Lohengrin assault cannons fired, destroying the doors in a massive explosion.

* * *

Heliopolis Interior

Everyone heard and felt the explosion. Everyone, including Rau and Chris, stopped whatever it was they were doing and looked up to see a massive fireball tearing through a part of Heliopolis, with two powerful, red beams lancing through the smoke cloud. They all watched as a massive white and red warship flew through the fireball.

_'First a ZAFT attack, now this. What else is gonna happen today?_' Chris thought as his duel with the CGUE came to a halt at the warship's arrival.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, that's Phase Two done. Not much difference compared to the original work... except I just added some scenes and refurbished some lines and paragraphs. I apologize to Akatsuki Leader13 and Maileesaeya once again. But, once ZAFT's Gundams and their pilots get into it, I'll be tearing out some chunks of chapter and replacing it with my own. I'm going to be having more scenes of the ZAFT pilots as they deal with their own conflicting thoughts about the war.**

**Well, that's it for now. See the big green button? Yeah, press that and let me know what you think.**

**Ja ne! ^^**

* * *

**Its Name is Gundam** Mecha Spec Page

"_The Raven, huh? Well, let's see what this thing can do."_ – Christopher "Chris" Dante, during his first ever use of the Raven

**GAT-X302 Raven Gundam:  
**Description:  
The second machine in the Earth Alliance's prototype Gundam series, the Raven was nearly scrapped entirely, when an accident killed the initial design team and damaged the machine itself. As a result, its existence escapes ZAFT's notice, allowing it to escape capture. The Raven Gundam was the first to use an X300 series frame, and unlike the later Aegis, its mobile armor form is capable of independent atmospheric flight. In this form, it can also carry another mobile suit on its back, a feature largely inspired by ZAFT's Guuls. During the attack on Heliopolis, Johanna Dante seizes control of the Raven, but promptly puts it in the hands of her Coordinator nephew, Christopher Dante.

**Model number:** GAT-X302**  
Code name:** Raven Gundam**  
Unit type:** prototype attack use transformable mobile suit**  
Manufacturer:** Morgenroete, Inc.**  
Operator:** Earth Alliance (Atlantic Federation)**  
First deployment:** January 25, C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** overall height 17.94 meters**  
Weight:** max gross weight 69.93 metric tons**  
Armor materials:** unknown**  
Powerplant:** ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown**  
Equipment and design features:** sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) Armor**  
Fixed armaments:** 2 x "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head  
Dual 52mm hyper velocity shield cannon, mounted on right forearm  
2 x "Ahura Mazda" short-range energy cannon, mounted on claws, operable only in flight mode  
M417 80mm machine gun, mounted in nose, operable only in flight mode  
2 x M2M3 76mm machine gun, mounted on shoulders, operable only in flight mode  
2 x beam saber, stored on hips, hand-carried in use**  
Optional hand armaments:** none  
**Pilot:** Christopher Dante

**Appearance:** Appearance wise, it resembles the Raider Full Spec, save it possesses the Raider's dual shield cannon and the additional thrusters on the back of the legs.  
**Colors:** Midnight blue torso, shins, shoulders, and head with red trim. White thighs, biceps, and faceplate, with gold V-crest and head spikes.  
**Notes:** Well, this is the exact same Raven Gundam as the one that Akatsuki Leader13 used in his retelling of Gundam Seed. I just took the liberty of cleaning up and fixing everything here, adding some more in-depth details to the Gundam's design. It's a nice machine and I think that it's still a solid, all-around mobile suit despite its main long-range weapon using solid ammo as opposed to the other models using beam weapons as their main long-range armament.


	3. Phase 3: Collapsing Land

**Here's Phase Three. Some parts are all me, some parts I just edited. Bear with me.**

**Disclaimer: Well, just look at Phase One for the big part of it. Well, part of this chapter I guess you could say I own, but most of it isn't mine, if you think about it. Anyways, I still own Leon Vanyel and his Sentinel Gundam, while the Raven Gundam, the Surge Gundam, and all other OCs belong to Akatsuki Leader13. The Guardian Gundam is Maileesaeya's property.**

* * *

Phase Three: Collapsing Land

January 25 C.E. 71

* * *

Heliopolis

Chris stared at the massive white warship as it soared into Heliopolis, trailing some smoke from the explosion it had no doubt been the cause of. From his standpoint, it probably wasn't a ZAFT vessel. If it were, and assuming that ZAFT wasn't concerned with the welfare of the colony or its inhabitants, it would have simply blasted its way into Heliopolis' superstructure. This ship had come from _within_ Heliopolis' superstructure. Which in turn meant that it had been built here, along with the mobile suits, most likely to serve as their home base. But it still raised the important question: Was it an enemy or a friend?

The CGUE Chris had been dueling sheathed its sword in favor of rearming itself with its rifle, before its thrusters propelled the mobile suit towards the new warship. It strafed the massive carrier, but its bullets proved ineffective against the ship's armor.

"Guess that answers my question..." he muttered to himself, relieved that he was out of danger for the moment.

The CGUE circled around, looking as if it was about to perform another strafing run on the ship. It seemed that way until the CGUE suddenly changed course and rocketed downwards, heading towards where the Strike was and…

_'Liz!'_ Chris thought as he sped towards the CGUE as fast as the Raven's thrusters would let him, intent on intercepting the ZAFT mobile suit before it attacked the Strike and his friends near it. His efforts to reach the mobile suit would prove futile, as the CGUE opened fire with its rifle on the Strike and, whether he wanted to or not, the people near it.

"NO!" Chris shouted in horror, unable to do anything at this range. As if on cue, Kira worked the controls inside the Strike's cockpit, moving the Strike into the path of the CGUE's bullets, protecting Liz, Johanna and the others.

"Damn coward!" Chris yelled as he fired the Raven's arm cannon at the CGUE.

The CGUE flew upwards, dodging the shots. As it did, the _Archangel_ fired four missiles at the CGUE. The CGUE's pilot expertly shot down two missiles and avoided the other two. Deprived of their target, the missiles wildly spun out of control and collided with Heliopolis's central shaft.

_'Damn it, this isn't good... if Heliopolis takes any more damage, it might start to break apart... if that happens, Liz and the others will-'_

Chris' train of thoughts were broken by an alarm sounding through the cockpit. A quick check told Chris that it was coming from the mobile suit's power level display. A single look told him all he need to know, and that was that he was in deep, deep trouble. The Raven's power was at ten percent, and still dropping. _Fast_.

_'Shit... we better drive this guy off soon, or we're toast...'_

Chris keyed the comm unit. "Kira, we've got trouble," he said. "I'm starting to run low on power and Heliopolis can't take much more damage. We have to at least get that ZAFT mobile suit out of here. I'll try to distract him, and when you get the chance, shoot him with that big gun of yours. Got it?"

_"Got it,"_ Kira replied as the Strike's massive Agni hyper-impulse cannon swiveled under its arm and into firing position.

Chris got to work on his part as he aimed and fired the Raven's arm cannon at the CGUE, confident that Kira would make sure that the Raven wouldn't get caught in the blast.

As Chris expected, the CGUE's skilled pilot easily avoided the shots. Aware that its quarry had returned, the CGUE focused its attention on Chris and raised its rifle at him.

The ZAFT pilot was about to fire when a massive red beam streaked towards it. The ace barely dodged the beam, losing his mobile suit's right arm in the process. Kira and Chris watched in horror as the beam continued on its destructive path and pierced Heliopolis's superstructure, opening a giant hole in the colony.

"No..." Chris said weakly as he watched the CGUE flee through the hole the Strike had made with the power of its hyper-impulse cannon.

Chris now knew that, without a doubt, ZAFT wouldn't be letting them off that easily if they could force an ace pilot to retreat. He briefly wondered if the colony's structural integrity would be able to withstand any more damage.

* * *

A Short While Later, onboard the _Archangel_

The Strike and the Raven landed inside one the Archangel's mobile suit catapults with a soft touch. They knelt down, side by side, and lowered their hands, allowing their precious living cargo to get off. Lt. Ramius, Tolle, Mir, Sai, Liz, and Johanna stepped off the hands of the Strike and the Raven and onto firm ground.

"Lt. Ramius!" Ensign Badgiruel called as she and members of the Archangel's surviving crew ran towards the people and the mobile suits.

"Ensign Badgiruel," Murrue acknowledged the other woman.

Badgiruel saluted her superior. "I'm relieved to see that you're alright."

Ramius returned her salute. "You as well. I'm pleased to see that you were able to protect the _Archangel_. You do realized that you saved our lives."

"Indeed," Johanna said as she stepped forward. "If you hadn't shown up when you did, Ensign Badgiruel, that CGUE most likely would have destroyed the Raven _and_ the Strike."

"But... if I may ask... who are these kids?" Badgiruel asked, her eyes on the students.

As if on cue, the cockpits of the Raven and the Strike opened and Kira and Chris climbed out and descended to the deck.

The _Archangel_'s crew stared in disbelief at the two teenagers climbing out of the two top-secret mobile suits.

"Come on," Chief Murdoch said. "What's going on here? Those machines were piloted by a couple of kids?"

"Lt. Ramius, Mrs. Dante, what's going on here?" Badgiruel asked.

The two were about to explain what happened, when a new voice interrupted. "Wow... that's extraordinary!"

Everyone turned to see a blond haired man wearing a purple EA flight suit approaching the group.

"And you are...?" Murrue questioned.

"Earth Alliance Forces, 7th Orbital Fleet, Lt. Mu La Flaga, at your service!" he said as he saluted.

The crew of the Archangel returned the salute.

"Oh... I'm with Earth Forces Sector 2, 5th Special Division. My name is Lt. Murrue Ramius."

"Ensign Natarle Badgiruel of the same division."

"Johanna Dante of Morgenroete."

Mu nodded. "I'd like permission to come onboard. Who's in charge here?"

Ensign Badgiruel looked hesitant for a moment before answering, "The captain and all other senior officers of this ship died when the explosions went off."

"What?" Murrue said in disbelief.

"Therefore, I believe Lt. Ramius is now the highest in command." Badgiruel said. "There are only a dozen or so of us left, mostly non-commissioned officers and workers from Morgenroete."

Mu sighed. "Oh, man... What a disaster this is turning out to be... Well, in any case, permission to come aboard, Lt. Ramius?"

"Oh... um... Permission granted," Murrue replied, still uncertain with herself being put in charge.

Mu nodded and glanced over at the group of teenagers standing around the mobile suits. "And who are they?"

Murrue answered. "As you can see, they're civilians."

Indicating Chris and Kira, she continued. "These two boys took control of the Raven and the Strike, and were able to defeat a pair of GINNs, drive off that CGUE, and protect the Guardian."

"What? These two kids were able to defeat two GINNs?" Natarle remarked in surprise.

"What happened to the pilots of the G-Units?" Mu asked.

"The captain was welcoming them when the attack started. They all died. Even the reserve pilots," Natarle replied.

Mu nodded absently before he approached Kira and Chris. "You two... you're Coordinators, aren't you?"

The crew of the Archangel collectively gasped, as Kira and Chris' friends tensed up with worry.

"Yes," they answered together.

"Coordinators...?" one muttered.

"They're with ZAFT...?" came the whisper of another.

"Stop looking at Kira and Chris like that!" Tolle shouted. "They may be Coordinators, but they aren't on their side! They're with us!"

A group of armed soldiers immediately raised their rifles at the group of teenagers.

"Leave them alone!" Mir said, placing herself between Kira, Chris, and the soldiers. "It was Kira and Chris who fought to protect us against the ZAFT mobile suit!"

_'They're all...'_ Kira thought.

"Lower your weapons now, dammit!" Johanna shouted in a loud, commanding voice, startling the soldiers. "They are Coordinators, that's true, but they are not a part of ZAFT, you trigger happy idiots! If they were a part of ZAFT, they would have just taken the mobile suits and left!"

"Lower your rifles, men! He's not the enemy!" Lt. Ramuis ordered.

The soldiers hesitantly complied.

"Lieutenant, I would like an explanation," Badgiruel said.

"Don't look so shocked," Murrue replied. "It's not that surprising to find a Coordinator here, considering that Heliopolis belongs to a neutral nation. So, it'd be natural to find others like them living here, Coordinators who wished to avoid the war altogether."

"Am I wrong, Kira? Chris?" she asked.

"No, you're right." Kira answered. "The truth is... I'm actually a first-generation Coordinator."

"Which means your parents are Naturals." Mu said. "What about you?"

"Lt. Ramius is right about me and my sister and why we chose to live here," Chris answered. "We're both second-generation Coordinators and we were born in the PLANTS. But our parents, fearing that a war was going to break out, sent us to Heliopolis to live with our aunt and uncle shortly before the war broke out."

"Then your parents are still living in the PLANTS?" Murrue asked.

Chris hesitated for a second. "No. They died early in the war."

"Sorry for causing such a fuss," Mu replied rather sheepishly. "I was just curious. Nothing more."

* * *

A few minutes later

"So, what do we do now?" Natarle asked. She, Murrue, and Mu had come up to the bridge alone to discuss their next course of action.

"Now? Well, I've just been shot down and the Le Creuset Team is waiting outside for us. He's a persistent fellow, so you can expect him to be waiting for us. Especially after that defeat those two kids handed him."

"Wait. Your saying that the pilot that Kira and Chris had fought and managed to beat a short while ago was _the_ ZAFT ace, Rau Le Creuset?" Murrue asked in disbelief.

Mu nodded.

"How did they manage that?"

"I'd have to say it was a little bit of natural skill and a whole lot of luck," Mu replied with a grin.

Natarle spoke up. "If I may, I believe that our best chance is to utilize the power of the Strike and the Raven. It would be more to our advantage if we could utilize the Guardian, but in its current condition, it can hardly move, much less fight."

Turning to Mu, she continued. "Lt. La Flaga-"

"What, you think I can figure out how to operate those things?" Mu asked in disbelief.

"Eh?" both Murrue and Natarle said in shock at his reply.

"Have you guys taken a look at what those two have done to the OS of those machines? No ordinary human could fly that thing!" Mu said.

Murrue looked thoughtful. "I suppose you're right... It looks like Kira and Chris are the only ones who can pilot the Strike and the Raven..."

* * *

Meanwhile, onboard the _Vesalius_

"Specific data is still being analyzed..." Rau said as he and several of his team's pilots gathered around the tactical display. "In point of fact, the enemy units destroyed Miguel's GINN as well as damaged Matthew's."

Miguel Aiman grit his teeth as he shot a dark glare at the golden-brown-haired redcoat opposite him. To his credit, Leon did not back down, and simply gave Miguel a look that said 'I told you so'.

Athrun, on the other hand, was oblivious to this silent confrontation, lost in his thoughts. _'It couldn't have been... Kira...?'_ he thought in dismay.

"There is no way we can let mobile suits that powerful get away!" Rau announced. "If you can't capture them, then destroy them! Along with that new battleship of theirs!"

Capt. Ades stepped forward and started barking orders. "You heard the Commander! All hands, assume battlestations! Miguel, Olor and Matthew, prepare for launch! The Commander has authorized the use of Type-D Equipment!"

"Yes sir!" the three pilots said as they saluted.

After they had departed, Athrun immediately went up to the _Vesalius_' captain. "Capt. Ades! Please! Allow me sortie as well!" he requested, nearly pleaded.

"But you don't have a mobile suit to pilot," Le Creuset replied. "And besides, you've already completed the crucial mission of capturing one of the enemy's prototypes."

"Let this one go, Athrun Zala," Ades admonished. "Miguel, Olor, and Matthew are itching for action just as much as you are."

"... Yes, sir..." he replied, but his thoughts were still on his old friend.

_'Kira...'_

As Athrun headed for the lift, Leon sighed before following his teammate.

* * *

Onboard the _Gamow_, Pilot Ready Room

"D-Equipment? Does Commander Le Creuset plan on storming a fortress or something?" Yzak asked. They had received word that the _Vesalius_ was going to be sending out three GINNs loaded up with D-Type Equipment.

"If they use that kind of equipment, what's going to happen to Heliopolis?" Nicol asked in concern.

"It's gonna be bad," Saul said as he watched a GINN on the screen being armed with heavy missiles. "A single misfire could cause massive damage to Heliopolis."

"It serves them right," Yzak arrogantly said. "Calling themselves a neutral state and building mobile suits for the Earth Forces. What a joke."

"So, the people of Heliopolis should suffer for the crimes of the people who run the Orb government? They should suffer for the crimes of something they weren't even aware of?" Saul asked before shaking his head. "Because that's what's gonna happen with those heavy weapons."

Yzak, Nicol and Dearka didn't respond.

Saul sighed, somewhat glad that everyone understood his point. "This whole situation really sucks."

No one disagreed with him. And for very good reason. That got another sigh from him.

* * *

Onboard the _Vesalius_

Miguel's GINN rocketed off the catapult, equipped with a "Barrus" heavy ion cannon, its thrusters propelling itself towards Heliopolis.

"Alright! That's the last one! Close the hatch!" one of the mechanics announced over the comm system.

As he was about to hit the switch on the hatch, another mobile suit, this one brilliant red, stepped onto the catapult.

"Huh? This one's going out, too?"

Onboard the Aegis, Athrun was still deep in his thoughts.

_'I have to find out... Was it really Kira in that mobile suit?'_

Shaking his thoughts aside for the time being, Athrun hit the boosters and propelled the Aegis into space.

* * *

"Capt. Ades!" the ship's mobile suit controller shouted. "Athrun Zala has just launched in the captured mobile suit!"

"What?" Ades replied. "Call him back at once!"

"It's alright. Let him go," Rau said, countermanding Ades' orders.

"Commander?" Ades asked.

"Its data has already been extracted," Le Creuset replied. "Besides, aren't you curious to see what happens... when two Earth Alliance mobile suits clash?"

* * *

Leon grinned. He and Athrun had really thrown the mechanics for a loop with all their unauthorized actions. He'd keep _that_ in mind for future reference.

But, his eyes showed a different side of him as he got the Sentinel onto the linear catapult. His blue irises gave off a sense of turmoil. Understandable, because his thoughts were everywhere, a pool of unsorted chaos, yet it somehow all converged into two questions.

_'Is the Commander nuts? Using D-Equipment inside a colony... what the hell is he thinking? But, more worrisome than that... is Athrun... he's been acting odd ever since we stormed that factory... what's driving him to go so far as to defy orders...?'_

Sighing, Leon shook his head to clear his thoughts. _'I'll think about this later...'_

Out of sheer habit, Leon looked up at the catapult display, only to remember that what he was doing wasn't authorized. Chuckling to himself, he shut his visor as he hit the Sentinel's thrusters, propelling him out into space.

* * *

Rau turned to the bridge's communication's officer and opened his mouth to issue an order... just as the officer turned to him again.

"Sir! The other captured unit has also launched without any clearance! Shall I recall it?"

Creuset smiled. "No, that's fine. Just establish communications with the other captured unit. It's obvious to me that Leon's piloting it."

Rau turned to the main screen, and smiled as Leon, in the cockpit of the second captured unit, and judging by his expression, not very happy at the call, appeared on screen.

_"You need something, Commander?"_ he asked, his blue eyes showing no surprise, but he appeared as if he had been expecting such a thing.

"Leon, I don't particularly mind that you and Athrun just launched in the captured prototypes, but there's just one thing I want to make very clear with you," he said.

* * *

_"Since you're out there, make it your mission to destroy or capture the enemy's mobile suits, but I want your top priority to be making sure you and Athrun come back in one piece,"_ Creuset said._ "Am I understood?"_

Leon thought about replying with sarcasm, but settled for the simplest reply.

"Understood, Commander," was all he said before shutting off the communications link.

_'Damn, I don't know why, but I always get this odd tingle coming from Commander Le Creuset... and the thing is, he's not the only one who gives me that feeling...'_ he thought, before shaking his head.

"I need to stay focused... Otherwise, I'm going to get myself or a friend killed..." he told himself, pulling further away from his conflicted thoughts.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the _Archangel_'s bridge

"Are you crazy? I can't allow civilians to operate those machines, much less two Coordinator children!" Badgiruel nearly shouted. "The G-Units are top military secrets!"

Mu crossed his arms. "Well, if you think about it, they're not exactly 'secret' anymore... I mean, ZAFT _did_ find out about it... and besides, if the three remaining units we have, and this battleship, are captured or destroyed, then everything else will have been for naught..."

"Before you ask Kira and Chris to change the OS of the G-Units back to their original format, you should know that the original OS didn't work that well," came the voice of Johanna Dante. The three Earth Forces officers looked up to see the Morgenroete employee walking towards them.

"And don't ask me to try to rewrite the OS to accommodate Natural pilots," she continued. "That's not my field of expertise. I worked on the bodies of the machines, not the programming. So, we're going to have to rely on them for protection."

"I agree." Murrue said. "Without Lt. La Flaga's mobile armor, the Raven and the Strike are our only means of defense from ZAFT's mobile suits, especially with the Guardian still incomplete. And the only ones that can pilot those machines are those two boys, whether we like it or not."

"But Lt. Ramius, we can't just allow kids to operate top secret military hardware." Badgiruel argued.

"It's a long way to the moon, and I highly doubt that we'll be able to get there without getting into a fight," Mu said. "And without those machines we're pretty much defenseless against mobile suits."

Ensign Badgiruel hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided that further argument was futile.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, I'm going back to the hanger to see if I can get the crews to hurry up. Maybe if we're lucky, we can even get started on the Guardian," Johanna said as she started to walk out of the bridge.

* * *

Murrue stood up and said, "I'll go talk to Kira and Chris about this. Lt. La Flaga, would you come with me? Ensign Badgiruel, I'll leave the bridge in your charge for the time being."

"I'm not interested! We don't want to be dragged into your war any further!" Kira adamantly replied.

Murrue and Mu exchanged a look. They knew it wasn't going to be easy, but the kid was being very stubborn and refused to budge on his decision.

Chris on the other hand, wasn't sure what to do. He really didn't want to get involved in the war that had taken so much from him, yet at the same time, his sister, his aunt, his friends, were all on board of this ship and he had the power to protect them.

Suddenly, Mu spoke up. "I provided escort for the men who were supposed to pilot those units..." he said, gaining Kira and Chris' attention. "Even for specially-trained pilots like them, getting those machines to move at all was no small feat."

Then he smiled. "In comparison, you two are amazing, being able to take down two GINNs and Rau Le Creuset's CGUE in your first engagement."

The two were stunned for a moment to learn that the CGUE they had faced was piloted by ZAFT ace Rau Le Creuset, but they recovered quickly enough, as evidenced by Kira's swift reply.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Lieutenant... I won't pilot that machine," he said.

Mu gave a sheepish grin. "I guess not..." he said, with Murrue shooting him a dark look. He wasn't making things any easier for them.

"Please... don't get us any more involved than you already have," Kira continued. "We know there is a war going on out there but we don't want any part of it. That's why we chose to live here in a neutral nation."

At that moment, Chris decided.

"I'll do it."

Kira, Liz, Tolle and everyone else stared at him in surprise. So Chris decided to explain his decision.

"Now, I don't want you to think that I'm calling you a coward Kira, because I'm not. But, as long as my friends and family are on this ship, and I have the power to protect them, I will." He turned to Ramius and added, "But make no mistake, I will not fight offensively against ZAFT. I'll only fight to protect this ship and the people I care about onboard."

"I understand. Thank you," Lt. Ramius said. "I suppose one is better than none."

Suddenly, an alarm sounded throughout the ship.

_"Lt. Ramius! Report to the bridge at once! Lt. Ramius!"_ a voice said over the intercom.

Ramius stepped over to a nearby comm panel and hit the switch.

"What is it?" she asked.

_"There is powerful electromagnetic interference throughout Heliopolis!"_ the person at the other end replied.

Mu cursed. "Damn! They don't plan on giving us the luxury of attacking first!" he said. "Impetuous bastards!"

"Tolle..." Mir said nervously.

"E-everything will be all right, Mir..." Tolle replied.

"Lt. Ramius!" Mu said. "Let me pilot the Strike!"

"What?" Murrue said in surprise.

"I don't know how well I can handle it, but..."

"Are you crazy, Lt. La Flaga?" Murrue nearly shouted.

"You think we can survive with just the Raven?" he countered. "If the _Archangel_ is destroyed, then we've lost everything!"

Kira's mind flashed back to mere hours ago, back in the hangar, when his friends had shielded him... If they could do so when he needed them, couldn't he do the same for them?

"I'll try rewriting the OS immediately!" Mu said.

"But, is there enough time?" Murrue asked.

"Actually," Liz said as she stepped forward. "I could pilot the other machine."

"No," came Chris' instant reply.

"But I'm a Coordinator, too! I can pilot the other mobile suit," Liz argued against her brother.

"I said no. I'll go out by myself."

"That's suicide and you know it, Chris!"

"I don't care! I'd prefer risking my own life rather than let you go out there with me!"

"Wait."

Everyone, including the quarreling siblings, stopped and looked at Kira.

"I'll pilot it," he said. "But not because you asked me to. I'm doing this simply to protect my friends who are on this ship!"

"Thank you, Kira..." Murrue said before turning to Lt. La Flaga.

"Lt. La Flaga, can you take charge of the CIC?" she asked. Mu nodded, and the two officers headed for the lift to take them to the bridge.

"C'mon Kira, we don't have much time," Chris said.

Kira nodded before he and Chris turned and made a dash for the hanger.

"Thanks for changing your mind, Kira," Chris said. "If you hadn't, my sister really would have piloted the Strike and risked her life out there."

"This war has taken too much from me already..." he added, more to himself than to Kira.

* * *

A few minutes later

Chris sat in the Raven's cockpit, preparing for launch in the _Archangel_'s port catapult, while Kira and the Strike were loaded up in the starboard side catapult, with Kira and Johanna talking over the comm about the Strike's equipment.

_"Alright, Kira... we're equipping the Strike with the Sword Striker, so we won't have a repeat of last time,"_ Johanna said over the comm system. _"Hold on for a second. Chief Murdoch will take over for a bit."_

After a slight pause, the voice of the _Archangel_'s chief mechanic came over the comm. _"Hey there, kid. You figure it out?"_ he asked.

"Y-yeah... I guess so," Kira replied.

_"That's good to hear,"_ Murdoch replied. _"Listen, I don't know what the other guys are saying, but I respect your courage. Whether you're Coordinator or Natural makes no difference to me. Now go get 'em!"_

"Y-yes sir!" Kira replied.

_"Okay, kid! Chief Dante's back! Good luck out there!"_ Murdoch said. A few seconds later, Johanna spoke through the comm system again.

_"Alright, Kira! Chris! Listen up! We've got four- what? Five now? Okay, we have five mobile suits incoming!"_ Johanna said. _"The Aegis? Damn, they're sending in one of the captured machines and three GINNs armed with... WHAT? Are they nuts?"_

_"What's wrong?"_ Chris asked.

_"These GINNs are equipped with heavy armaments used for taking out heavily armed and armored bases! Listen, don't let them fire at any cost!"_

Kira had a sharp intake of breath while Chris just shook his head in disbelief.

_'These guys are insane... How could ZAFT use those weapons inside a civilian colony?'_ Chris thought.

_"We have an ID on the fifth unit. It's the X-209 Sentinel,'_ Johanna said. _'Be very careful when engaging the Sentinel. Its special armaments are deadly. At any rate, good luck out there. If we can get the Guardian up and running by some miracle, we'll send it out to back you up.'_

The catapult doors opened, and the linear rail system locked into position. Chris looked up at the catapult display, and nodded when the display turned from red to green.

"Chris Dante, Raven, taking off!" he announced as the catapult sent him and the Raven out.

At the same time, the Sword Striker was being attached to the Strike on the launch deck. Looking up at the catapult's display, Kira waited for the green "All Clear" signal. It came three seconds after the Sword Striker had locked into place.

"Kira Yamato, Strike, launching!" he announced as the catapult sent the Strike out much the way its counterpart had launched Chris.

Chris nodded. "Well... let's give this 'mobile armor mode' a try..." he murmured to himself as he hit a button on the console. A very short two seconds later, he was no longer sitting in the cockpit of a mobile suit, but that of a bird-like mobile armor.

Remembering what the specs said when he was rewriting the OS, he keyed his comm.

"Hey, Kira! Hop on! The sooner you and I reach those enemies, the sooner we'll be able to stop them from firing!" he said.

Obliging, Kira boosted up, landing smoothly on the Raven's back. Once the Strike had been secured on the dock, Chris hit the Raven's thrusters, speeding them towards the five enemy suits.

As the distance between the two groups dropped, two of the three GINNs, both armed with the heavy missiles Johanna had been talking about, broke apart from their allies and made a beeline for the _Archangel_.

"Hey Kira, can you handle these guys by yourself? I'll go and stop the other two before they get to the _Archangel_. That okay?" Chris said.

_"Yeah, I'll tie them up until you get back,"_ Kira replied.

"Okay, then. Your stop's here. Stay alive until I get back!" Chris said. He felt the Raven's weight decrease as the Strike boosted off the Raven's back, heading to engage the Aegis and the last remaining GINN. The fifth unit, the other prototype, was nowhere in sight.

_'Worry about him later... stop those two first...'_ Chris thought as the Raven transformed and gave chase to the two GINNs. Due to the GINNs being laden down with heavy weapons, and the Raven's superior speed in mobile armor form, he caught up to them quickly.

One of the ZAFT pilots must have seen the Raven approaching, as it turned and fired off three missiles from its ankle-mounted missile pods. Chris brought up his weapons systems and opened fire with the Raven's shoulder mounted machine guns, destroying two missiles as he rolled out to avoid the third.

Chris narrowed his eyes. _'Not bad... but don't think I'm going to let myself be an easy target...'_

The other GINN fired two of its heavy missiles and several more missiles from its missile pods at the _Archangel_. The massive warship performed evasive maneuvers as its CIWS opened fire. The rapid-fire barrage destroyed the large missiles and many of the smaller missiles, while the ship itself evaded what few got through its pinpoint defenses. Deprived of their targets, the missiles spiraled out of control and collided with the colony walls.

"Damn! Stop firing!" Chris shouted as he quickly switched the Raven into mobile suit mode and fired with the Raven's arm cannon.

The GINN Chris had been aiming at dodged the Raven's shots before firing off the rest of its heavy ordnance at the Raven. It quickly discarded the now-useless launchers before drawing its rifle and firing off several rounds.

Chris fired desperately with the Raven's arm cannon and Igelstellungs, trying to destroy as many missiles as he could. He took out one of the large missiles, then the smaller ones with his scattered fire. As he took aim at the last missile, the GINN's rifle fire struck the Raven, shaking the machine and throwing Chris' aim off, making his wild shot miss entirely. The single missile slammed into Heliopolis' central shaft, doing severe damage.

"Damn you! Are you trying to destroy Heliopolis?" Chris shouted as he fired off several rounds at the GINN. The first two pairs missed, but one shot from the third pair tore through the GINN's left leg at the knee, severing it. However, the pilot continued to fire with its rifle, forcing Chris to evade and fire one last round. The shots struck true, penetrating the GINN's torso. A split-second later, it exploded.

Chris barely registered that he had just taken a life, and he wouldn't have had the time to, anyways, as an alarm sounded. A quick check of his view screen showed him exactly why. The Sentinel had finally shown itself, and it was on a course for Chris and the Raven.

As the Sentinel neared, it drew one of its short beam glaives and thrust forward with incredible quickness. Chris brought up the Raven's arm cannon and redirected the thrust while the Raven's left arm went for its beam saber at its hip. Chris drew the beam saber, activated it, and slashed in one smooth motion, but the Sentinel drew its glaive back and blocked the swing with the shaft of the glaive, stopping the beam saber entirely.

_'Great... more anti-beam coating?'_ Chris thought. This wasn't going to be easy.

Leon, on the other hand, found himself silently praising the Raven's pilot... and the Earth Forces' engineering for coming up with these mobile suits.

The two machines pushed off each other, with Chris firing off a round at the Sentinel with the Raven's arm cannon. Leon boosted out of the way, storing the beam glaive on its storage rack before lashing out with the 'Ouroboros' claw mounted on the Sentinel's left arm. Chris reflexively brought up the Raven's shield and blocked the claw, but his eyes widened when the claw stayed latched onto the shield. A warning on his screen showed that the claws had even made some penetration into the shield.

Leon smirked. He'd been waiting for that: a mistake. He retracted the claw, and the weapon obliged, bringing the Raven along with it whether it wanted to come or not. Igniting the right claw's 'Hydros' beam blade, Leon swung down, aiming for the Raven's left arm, which Chris barely blocked with his beam saber.

The ZAFT red lashed the 'Ouroboros' claw out again, pushing the Raven out and taking it off its balance. He released the Raven's shield, leaving large, jagged tears in the armor.

Keying his comm, Leon broadcast in the open, directing it at the Raven. "You and your mobile suit are pretty good! Let's take this thing up a notch!"

Activating the Sentinel's high-output verniers, Leon flew at the Raven as the midnight blue mobile suit fired its arm cannon. Leon dodged and brought his beam blade up, trading blows with the Raven, quickly swinging around for another pass. He was pleased to see the Raven mimic his maneuver, coming at him with beam saber in hand.

* * *

Contrary to what he had told Chris, Kira wasn't doing as well as he had hoped. The GINN he was facing was armed with a heavy ion cannon, and its pilot was firing like a crazed maniac, not seeming to care whether he hit the Strike or Heliopolis.

_'Doesn't he realize that he's destroying people's homes every time he misses? I have to stop him!'_ Kira thought.

On the other hand, Miguel was getting angrier by the second. He just couldn't seem to come close to hitting the Strike and its Natural pilot. Adding to this humiliation was the embarrassment of his prior defeat to the Strike. Needless to say, Miguel wanted payback, and he wanted it now.

"Get behind it, Athrun!" he shouted over the radio.

Suddenly, the Aegis, which had stayed out of the fight up to this point and merely watched, lunged at the Strike from behind.

Kira noticed at the last second and dodged, barely evaded the Aegis. But the second he did, Miguel took the Strike in his sights and fired. Kira's lightning reflexes took action, allowing him to dodge the beam. Kira quickly countered with the Sword Strike's "Midas Messer" beam boomerang, throwing it at the GINN. Miguel boosted over the boomerang's path and prepared to fire again at the Strike. However, he was caught off guard as the boomerang looped around, severing his machine's right leg. Before Miguel could regain control, Kira made his move. With a cry, he cleaved the "Schwert Gewehr" anti-ship sword right through the GINN, cutting it in two.

"AAAAAAAARGH!" Miguel screamed as his mobile suit exploded.

With one opponent down, Kira turned to the Aegis, ready for anything. He was unsure of the identity of the Aegis' pilot, but he had seen whom he believed to be his friend Athrun Zala steal the machine... but was it that same person piloting the Aegis now?

_"Kira! Kira Yamato!_" a voice came over the radio.

Kira drew in a sharp intake of breath. He knew that voice. It was the voice of his old friend, Athrun Zala. His childhood friend had been part of the attack on his home... and was now facing him in combat.

"_So it is you... isn't it, Kira?_" Athrun said, more of a statement than a question.

* * *

Chris took a look around to survey his surroundings, having caught a moment after another clash with the Sentinel. He spotted the second GINN he had been fighting earlier now harrassing the _Archangel_. As he took aim at it, the Sentinel flew at him, both beam blades ignited. Cursing, Chris drew his other beam saber as well and counter-attacked. The four weapons clashed, and the mobile suits were now engaged in a deadlock, both pushing against each other as they vied for dominance.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chris saw the GINN get hit by one of the _Archangel_'s Gottfrieds, the powerful beams vaporizing the entire lower half of the mobile suit. But the beams continued on their path, hitting the central shaft of Heliopolis, causing further damage.

Just before the mobile suit exploded, it wildly fired off its two remaining missiles. The two out-of-control missiles hit the shaft, and that did it. The shaft broke into two, and with its central support gone, Heliopolis began to collapse.

"No…" Chris whispered as he watched his home for almost a year crumble into dust and debris.

In the Sentinel, Leon was watching with a mixture of disgust and rage.

"Damn it... this is..." Leon muttered through clenched teeth.

"Commander Le Creuset isn't going to be coming away clean after _this_, even with his war record..." he continued. "An enemy battleship and three mobile suits isn't worth a colony's destruction, regardless of whether it's civilian or not... who knows how many people lost their lives...? Their homes?"

Calming himself, Leon keyed his comm and dialed onto the open channel.

"We'll end this fight in a draw," he said, touching two of the Sentinel's fingers to the crest in a salute of sorts directed at the Raven. "I hope to face you again in battle."

Shutting the comm, he latched onto a a large piece of debris as he was being sucked out by the vacuum, using it to shield himself from other pieces of debris.

Chris struggled against the powerful pull at first, but quickly realized that it was pointless. He let himself get sucked out, praying that he, Kira, and the _Archangel_ would survive.

* * *

"Athrun? Athrun Zala?" Kira said in complete disbelief. "Why... why are you here?"

_"You should talk, Kira!"_ Athrun countered. _"What are you doing in that thing?"_

Before Kira could even reply, the colony around them began collapsing. He looked around in horror, watching his home tear itself apart. And, just like that, the two friends were pulled apart by the vacuum in opposite directions.

Kira screamed as the G-forces his body was being subjected to grew too much for him to handle. He heard Athrun shout his name out over the comm, and then nothing but static.

* * *

Onboard the _Gamow_

The remaining pilots of the Le Creuset team watched as Heliopolis broke apart before their very eyes.

"No... Heliopolis..." Nicol said weakly.

"Damn... how did Miguel and the others screw up so badly that the entire thing came apart?" Dearka asked no one in particular. But you could still detect the frustration in his voice.

"The Supreme Council's going to have Commander Le Creuset's head for this," Saul remarked solemnly. "There's no way he can get out of something this severe without any form of punishment. Using D-Type Equipment inside a colony, nevermind if it was civilian or not... What was he thinking?"

* * *

The Newly Formed Heliopolis Debris Field

Chris stared out at the debris field of what had been his home for a few days short of a year. But now it was gone. Nothing more than dust in the wind.

_"X-3...Ra...05 Str...res..."_ a static filled voice called over the radio.

A few seconds later, it came back, this time at full strength. _"X-305 Raven, X-105 Strike, please respond."_

"This is the Raven, Chris here," Chris called over the radio. "Is that you, _Archangel_?"

_"Affirmative, Raven,"_ what Chris recognized to be the voice of Ensign Badgiruel answered. _"What's your status?"_

"Shaken, but... I'm still in one piece, so far."

_"Can you see the Strike?"_

Chris took a quick visual check around. He spotted the _Archangel_ in the distance, but there was no sign of the Strike.

"No, I can't see him."

_"Very well, then. Return to the ship immediately."_

"I hear you. On my way."

Chris oriented himself and hit his thrusters, beginning the trip back to the ship as Ensign Badgiruel continued to call the Strike.

A few seconds later, Kira finally responded. _"X-105 Strike here. I'm fine."_

_"Do you have the ship's position?"_ Badgiruel asked.

_"Yeah, I've got it," _Kira replied.

_"Then return to the ship."_

_"Right. I'm making my way there."_

During the exchange, Chris had only made it about a third of the way to the _Archangel_, due to being slowed down by all the debris, when he spotted a blinking light. Zooming in to examine it further, the light revealed itself to be the beacon of a damaged Heliopolis lifeboat.

"_Archangel_, I've found a damaged lifeboat out here. I'm bringing it in," he called over the radio.

_"What? Who gave you the authorization to do that?"_ Badgiruel asked, obviously not pleased.

_'Oh, you gotta be kidding me...'_

"I'm bringing this lifeboat in, _Archangel_."

_"You can't just bring in a civilian lifeboat without proper authorization!"_

Chris shook his head in disbelief and pushed some of the buttons next to the radio, filling the radio with static. "What was that, _Archangel_? You're breaking up, and I didn't get that last transmission. You can tell me when I come aboard with the lifeboat."

Chris then turned off the radio, delicately took hold of the lifeboat, and continued on his way to the _Archangel_.

* * *

Leon was staring out his view screen in solemn silence, looking at the result of Commander Le Creuset's decision... and his teammates' reckless abandon.

_"Le... ple... spo... run... res..."_ came a static-filled transmission. Absently reaching over, Leon hit a couple of buttons, boosting the power to the comm system. On the next run, the call made it through clearly.

_"Leon Vanyel, Athrun Zala, this is the _Vesalius_ calling. Do you read? Please respond,"_ came the voice of one of the bridge officers on the _Vesalius_.

_"Athrun here..."_ Athrun said over the comm. _"I'm in visual range. I'll be onboard shortly."_

_"Understood, Athrun. Leon, come in. If you can hear me, please respond."_

Leon waited a couple of seconds before keying his comm. "Leon here, I'm alright, no need to worry. I've got your coordinates logged in, and I'll be there as soon as I can."

_"Understood. Commander says to get back as fast as possible."_

"Right. On my way," Leon said before closing the link.

As he maneuvered through the debris-littered space, something caught Leon's eye. Snapping to full alertness, he made a thorough visual scan of the area, not bothering to use the sensors especially with all the interference the debris would cause.

His search turned up fruitless, but Leon just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something that he had missed.

Shaking his head, he simply continued on his way, unaware that a piece of debris from the Morgenroete factory district shifted, revealing a very large trailer hidden inside it. The trailer eventually rolled, and there you could see a number code partly scratched out, but still legible: GAT-X107...

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, that's Chapter Three. It took much longer than planned, and I apologize. I've been in the mourning period for a family member, so I ask for your understanding.**

**I extended the chapter as a whole to incorporate more time for the ZAFT pilots, mainly Athrun and Leon. I hope you also like the extended battle scenes... And yes, before anyone asks, that trailer is supposed to be there. Surprised? XD**

**Anyways, not much else to say, but I hope you'll leave a review to let me know what you think. As per my protocol, I'll ignore flames, and people who tell me what I should be doing with this story without me asking for their input.**

**Updates might slow down starting next week, because I'm back in school (bleh), but I'll still try to update as much as I can.**

**Ja ne, minna! ^^**

* * *

**Collapsing Land** Mecha Spec Page

_"I can't hold back, because to give any less than my best would be an insult to your pride and your conviction!"_ - Leon Vanyel, after learning of Chris Dante's reason to fight.

**GAT-X209 Sentinel Gundam  
**Description:  
The Sentinel Gundam is the sixth prototype unit captured by ZAFT. Like the Surge and the Blitz, the Sentinel also incorporates an X-200 series frame, a design made for supporting special weapons and equipment, which in this case are its 'Ouroboros' grappler claws and its high-output vernier thrusters. The Sentinel's drawback is its severe lack of ranged combat capabilities, but coupling its close combat-oriented weapon setup with its high-speed and maneuverability, it can make that deficit seem insignificant at melee range. After its capture, the machine is permanently assigned to ZAFT pilot Leon Vanyel.

**Model number:** GAT-X209**  
Code name:** Sentinel Gundam**  
Unit type:** prototype high-speed melee combat mobile suit**  
Manufacturer:** Morgenroete, Inc.**  
Operator(s):** Earth Alliance (Atlantic Federation); ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)**  
First deployment:** January 25, C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** overall height 18.67 meters**  
Weight:** max gross weight 75.34 metric tons**  
Armor materials:** unknown**  
Powerplant:** ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown**  
Equipment and design features:** sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) Armor; high-output vernier thrusters**  
Fixed armaments:** 2 x "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head  
2 x "Ouroboros" composite grappler claw, mounted on forearms, features: "Hydros" beam blade, plasma beam cannon, can produce electrical shock  
2 x beam glaive, stored behind shoulders, hand-carried in use, can be combined**  
Optional hand armaments:** 60mm high-energy beam rifle, power rating unknown  
**Pilot:** Leon Vanyel

**Appearance:** The Sentinel closely resembles the Blitz in its appearance, just replace the Trikeros and Gleipnir with the Altron (Katoki/Endless Waltz version)'s dragon fangs. Its high-output verniers essentially resemble the V2 Gundam's Minovsky Drive thrusters, while a smaller main thruster engine is located in between them (the way thrusters are found on the Freedom's back unit, between its wings)

**Colors:** Its main color is cerulean blue, with yellow trim. Since it resembles the Blitz, you can just change the black portions for blue, and the red portions for yellow. The gray portions of the mobile suit are colored black. The main bodies of the claws are blue as well, but the "claws" themselves are yellow. Its eyes are the color of bloody crimson.

**Notes:** Well, this is my first original mobile suit in the story, and its armaments and weapon systems are largely based on the Shenlong and Altron Gundams. As you can tell, it's a Gundam almost exclusively oriented towards high-speed melee combat. The beam glaives are slightly shorter versions of the Shenlong's weapon, but use a more conventional spearhead shape instead of the curved beam blade that the Shenlong's glaive had.

Allow me to explain the Ouroboros claws in more detail. It can perform its intended purpose, latch onto something like a tether line and use it as an anchor, drag said object towards the Sentinel, or outright crush it with its unforgiving Phase Shift armored claws, but its hidden features allow it to do much more. The Sentinel can activate the beam blade each claw carries, turning the claws into wide ranging melee weapons, or it can unveil its trump card when it has an enemy caught in its grip: the short-range, but extremely powerful plasma beam cannon.


	4. Phase 4: Phase Shift Down

**Disclaimer: Well, since I do it every time, might as well do it again. It's a drag, but I need to tell you who owns what or there would be total chaos and pandemonium. I don't own Gundam Seed, as usual.**

**Well, part of this chapter I guess you could say I own, but most of it isn't mine, if you think about it. Anyways, I still own Leon Vanyel and his Sentinel Gundam, while the Raven Gundam, the Surge Gundam, and all other OCs belong to Akatsuki Leader13. The Guardian Gundam is Maileesaeya's property.**

* * *

Phase Four: Phase Shift Down

January 25 C.E. 71

* * *

Onboard the _Archangel_

Chris lay on one of the bunks in the room he, Kira and the rest had crammed into, idly catching bits of conversation that were simply washed away by his thoughts. Aside from how he felt about what had happened during the past few hours, the exhaustion from the battle had caught up to him. To add to that, he had no outlet for his stress because, in the rush of the moment, he'd left his guitar back in the Professor's lab. Right now, it was probably just some pieces of splintered wood floating around somewhere in that mess of a debris field.

Chris was immediately jarred out of his thoughts as the ship suddenly shook for a moment.

"What was that?" Flay Allster asked nervously, clutching onto Sai's arm like it was a lifeline.

Flay Allster... one of the people that had been in that lifeboat he had rescued, and a younger student at the same technical college they all went to. Chris wasn't all that crazy about her, to be frank. Sure, he admitted that he found her physically attractive, but her spoiled, bratty personality irritated him. Stuck up people just got him hot under the collar. Though, he had to say, if she wasn't so stuck up and arranged to marry Sai Argyle, he probably would have asked her out at some point.

"It looks like we're on the move, if the slight rumble going through the ship is any indication," Chris said. "As for where we're going... I have no idea."

"Ah, Kira, Chris, there you are!" Mu called as he entered the room they were sitting at. "Captain Ramius and Mrs. Dante asked me to come over and let you know of some arrangements. The three of us are to put on pilot suits and be on standby in our machines."

"Our last-ditch exit strategy is about to commence," the lieutenant added. "It'll be pretty tough, so we'll have to be ready. You better hurry up and get to the hangar and help with the maintenance on your machines."

"_Our_ machines?" Kira clarified in disbelief. "When did they become _our_ machines?"

"I have to agree with Kira, Lt. La Flaga. Don't these machines belong to either Morgenroete or the Earth Forces?" Chris asked as he sat up.

"Technically, you're right. These mobile suits _are_ top secret military hardware. But, just for the moment, it's been decided that since you're the only ones who can operate them effectively, they're your machines."

"Sure, we piloted those machines twice... but we're not soldiers. We aren't going to just go jump back in because you ask us to," Kira argued.

"Listen... I understand how you feel, Kira," Mu replied. "But right now, there are only three of us who can protect this ship, at least until the Guardian is completed. Even if just for a little while, Kira. We won't make it through without your help. Everyone on this ship is depending on _us_. Depending on _you_."

"Depending... on us, huh?" Chris repeated to himself. "If we don't step up and do what we can... then it's all over."

"That's the idea," Mu said. "All we can do now is contribute whatever we can... in our own way. Whether civilian or soldier, Natural or Coordinator. It'll be tough, but those are the circumstances that we face on this ship."

"Lt. La Flaga... I..." Kira murmured.

"The truth is... I'd like to run away from it all myself," Mu said. "But I can't. I won't force you into risking your life in battle. But if you don't give us your help, then those will definitely be your last words."

Mu's words echoed in Kira's mind. They had struck a chord within him. A very resonant cord.

"You have very little time left, including the time to think it over," the lieutenant said as he began to walk away. "Just make sure that whichever decision you make, you won't regret."

"Excuse me, sir," Sai spoke up. "But, where are we going?"

"To the nearby Eurasian military base, Artemis. Of course, we're likely to have some problems actually getting in," Mu answered.

"Not to mention just getting there..." he said under his breath as he started off towards the hangar.

Chris sighed. "Well Kira, should we go down to the hanger?"

"I need to be alone for a little bit..." Kira murmured before he ran off.

"Kira!" Tolle and Mir shouted.

"Don't worry, I'll go after him," Chris said as he jumped off his bunk.

"Hold on a minute!" Flay exclaimed. "You mean that you and Kira were piloting those mobile suits?"

"Yes, they were the ones," Sai replied. "You know how one of the mobile suits brought aboard that lifeboat you were on? Well, the pilot of that mobile suit was Chris."

Flay turned to Chris. "You? You were the one in that thing?"

"Yeah."

"But why would the two of you be piloting mobile suits?" she asked.

"Well, my sister, Kira and I are Coordinators." he replied. "Oh, and Flay? If you're one of those people who discriminates against Coordinators, then do us all a favor and keep your mouth closed."

Chris then turned his back on the rest and went on his way, following the same path that Kira had taken.

Liz watched her brother walk away with a sorrowful gaze. Ever since their parents had died, he had become bitter towards people who discriminated against Coordinators or Naturals, or in the case of extremists like Blue Cosmos, those who utterly hated one or the other.

Of course, things had been different for the first month and a half after their parents died in a Blue Cosmos terrorist attack. During that time, Chris would get angry at just about everyone and everything. He would go out and pick fights with just about anyone. Sometimes he won, but other times he didn't. During those times, Liz had feared that they'd find him dead in an alley before long.

About a month and a half after their parents died, that all changed when their grandfather payed them a visit from Orb. On his second night there, he took Chris out for a couple of hours. What was said and done during that time was known only to those two. But what Liz knew was that when they returned, both were beaten up and disheveled, though Chris was unconscious and in worse condition compared to their grandfather.

After that... _incident_... Chris had begun to change. His unfocused anger at the world faded away. He stopped going out and picking fights with people just to take his anger out on someone or something. Though he would still get into fights, things were different. Now, he fought simply to protect himself and others.

Seeing the uncertainty in Flay's eyes, Liz spoke. "My brother, Kira and I may be Coordinators... but we're not with ZAFT."

"Kira and Chris are dear to us. They're treasured friends," Mir added.

Sai nodded. "Yeah... and I think we should do our part like they are... contributing what we can..." he muttered.

Tolle looked at the older boy. "Sai... you thinking what I'm thinking?" Mir, Liz, and Flay looked up at the two boys.

Sai nodded. "Yeah... let's go see if we can go talk to the captain," he said. "I don't think we can just sit back here on the sidelines and let Kira and Chris do all the work."

* * *

Meanwhile

Chris sighed. He'd looked throughout the entire ship for Kira, from the mobile suit hangar to the observation decks, and found no trace of the other Coordinator. Believing that he'd have to prepare for combat by himself, he found his way towards the _Archangel_'s pilot ready room.

He hit a panel on the side, and the door silently slid open...

"Chris?" Kira said from where he had been sitting, surprised to see his friend. Chris, on the other hand, looked at Kira in disbelief. He'd searched pretty much everywhere he was allowed to go, only to find his friend in the place he least expected him to be in.

"Nevermind... I take it you've decided, right?" he asked.

Kira nodded. "I thought about what Lt. La Flaga said... and I figured that I shouldn't run away. If I have the power to make a difference, then I should put it to good use, right?"

Chris smiled appreciatively. "Well, good to know I won't be heading out there alone, at least," he replied.

"Since we're heading out there... I guess we should get to putting on some pilot suits, huh?" he added, walking over to different lockers and opening them, looking for a suit that would fit him _and_ actually look good.

Kira followed Chris' example and started sorting through the different flight suits, trying to find one that suited his tastes.

* * *

A few minutes later

Mu hit the door panel, and it slid open. The mobile armor ace, clad in his customary purple flight suit, stepped in... and immediately stopped, quite surprised at what his eyes were showing him.

Before him stood Chris and Kira, fully suited up in their own distinct pilot suits: Kira wearing a dominantly light blue one, and Chris wearing a midnight blue pilot suit that matched the primary color of the Raven.

"Well, I suppose this means that you're both going to lend us a hand, right?" Mu asked, though he already expected the reply. He was just doing this for his peace of mind.

"Yeah," Chris said. "I'm not going to let my friends and sister down. I'll give everything I've got to protect them and this ship."

"I thought about what you said back there, Lieutenant..." Kira replied. "And I realized that I should contribute in whatever way I can. I may not be a soldier, but that doesn't mean that I should back down from protecting my friends."

Mu grinned. "Well, that's reassuring," he said. "Now that you're ready... I should let you boys in on the plan!"

* * *

Aboard the _Gamow_

Saul Kessel, fully suited up, sat in the cockpit of his now-permanent mobile suit, the Surge, waiting for the launch order. He admitted that he was overflowing with excitement at the thought of testing the Surge in an actual combat situation.

He easily remembered what he had said when he had gone through the unit's specs more carefully after he learned that he had been permanently assigned to it.

_"I think I'm in love"_ he had said, and it was understandable why.

The Surge was easily the fastest of all the prototypes that had been produced in Heliopolis. Hell, chances are, it's the fastest mobile suit that had ever made it off an assembly line. He could imagine the men and women of the infamous Alaric Team, under the command of Commander John Alaric - better known as the "Black Hawk" - desiring to get their hands on this or any of the other mobile suits from Heliopolis.

_'Oh, wait.'_

Commander Alaric had been assassinated months prior, and it was now the man's second-in-command, Diana Kessel, in charge of the team.

Saul shuddered at the thought of his older sister. Despite their blood relation, they were complete and total opposites in almost every way. Where he was lazy, calm, and quiet, she was a real slave driver: loud, uptight, forceful, and about a dozen other unpleasant words he and anyone under her command could use to describe her. She was also a skilled hacker, though much to her annoyance, not as good as her younger brother.

Regardless of it's commander, the Alaric Team was still the same outfit of people they had always been: a group of pilots that varied from extremely professional soldiers to soldiers that, if they had been in any other group in the ZAFT military, would have been kicked out of the military or thrown in a military prison. All in all, they were a wild and unpredictable group of soldiers, who had only two things that they all shared: a tremendous loyalty to their commander -both his sister and the late John Alaric- and their mobile suits. The machines the 11th Fleet fielded were a bunch of heavily customized GINN High Maneuver Types. In fact, it was said that no two mobile suits were exactly the same, and these mobile suits were so heavily modified it would be nearly impossible to return them to their default factory specifications. The variety of mobile suits were divided among a trio of customized Nazca-class vessels that served as the fleet's mobile home base. But that's who the men and women of the Alaric Team were: a veritable group of soldiers who piloted a veritable medley of machines. That nonwithstanding, they were the most feared and respected space-based unit in ZAFT.

_"Mobile suit pilots, prepare for launch,"_ the _Gamow_'s Combat Operator said over the communication channel.

Taking the cue, Saul remembered that he was supposed to be first out and moved the Surge onto the catapult. After a few seconds, he received the green light to take off.

"Saul Kessel, Surge, takin' off!" he announced as the catapult activated. Saul felt the g-forces pushing him back into his seat as the Surge was launched into space.

_'Time to try this baby out.'_

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Hangar

Kira sat in the cockpit of the Strike, waiting for the signal in the starboard catapult, while Chris and the Raven were loaded up in the starboard one. Lt. La Flaga had taken off a few minutes ago to move into position for his role in the escape plan. And soon, it would be his and Chris' turn to launch, and their role... was to keep any and all mobile suits from attacking the _Archangel_.

_"Kira, we'll be attaching the Aile Striker onto the Strike,"_ Johanna Dante's voice said over the comm system.

"Yeah, I understand," Kira replied.

_'The lieutenant will sneak ahead and hit the enemy in front,' _the brown-haired Coordinator thought, going through the plan one more time. _'Meanwhile, Chris and I will protect the ship from the enemy behind us. This is gonna work.'_

_"Kira, Chris,"_ Miriallia suddenly said over the comm as her face appeared on one of screens on the console. The background behind her showed the CIC on the _Archangel_'s bridge.

"Miriallia?" Kira said.

_"From now on, I will act as the combat operator for the mobile suits and the mobile armor,"_ Mir explained, flashing a peace sign at the two along with a wink. _"I'm counting on you two."_

_"We're all counting on you,"_ Sai's voice came over.

"But what are you…?" started Kira.

"_We didn't want to let you do all the work,_" said Mir. "_So we volunteered to help out with the ship's operation._"

The two pilots smiled in appreciation, reaffirmed in the belief that they were doing the right thing.

"_The enemy will make their move right when the _Archangel_ makes the first move,_" Natarle said over the comm. "_Strike, Raven, be ready._"

"Right," Kira replied, going over the Strike's current armaments as each display came up on his main screen.

_"Bring our engines up to maximum combat speed,"_ the two heard Murrue say. _"Activate the assault cannons, and have them target the Nazca-class dead ahead."_

As instructed, the helmsman, Arnold Neumann, reactivated the engines, bringing control of the _Archangel_'s movements back into his hands.

_"Lohengrin, fire!"_ Natarle ordered as soon as the ship began moving under its own power. The two powerful assault cannons fired two crimson streaks of anti-matter particles, disintegrating space debris as they lanced through space. As if on cue, both catapult doors opened up and locked into place. Kira looked up, and punched the throttle as the display lit up green.

"Kira Yamato, Strike Gundam, launching!" Kira announced as he cleared the launch deck.

_'Gundam? That's an interesting name... He took the first letters of each word in the start-up display of the OS... Wish I had thought of that...'_ Chris thought on his own end, but shook it off as his own catapult's launch display gave him the green light.

_"Chris Dante, Raven Gundam, taking off!"_ Chris announced as the port catapult activated, propelling him forward and into space.

_"Raven and Strike, we have six enemy machines incoming,"_ Ensign Badgiruel's voice said over the comm. _"Two from the Nazca-class ahead of us, the remaining four from the Laurasia-class behind us. Confirming IDs... the Sentinel and the Aegis from the front, and the Duel, the Buster, the Blitz, and the Surge from the rear."_

_'Damn, that's a three-to-one advantage...'_

_"Hey, Kira!"_ Chris said over the comm. _"With these numbers, we should try and keep ourselves closer to the Archangel so it can give us some fire support."_

"Right," Kira replied. "We'll need all the help we can get."

* * *

The four stolen prototypes from the _Gamow_ - the Duel, the Buster, the Blitz, and the Surge - rocketed through space, on a beeline for the "Legged Ship".

_"Dearka, Nicol, Saul! Athrun and Leon have already left the _Vesalius_!"_ Yzak said over the comm. _"Don't let those two beat you there! We'll plow into those mobile suits and hit them with everything we've got!"_

Saul quickly heard Nicol's voice over the comm. _"We don't know the enemy ship's capabilities!"_ the other pilot argued. _"It's too dangerous to rush in indiscriminately!"_

"He's right, you know," Saul said, adding in his two cents. "Charging in head-first is just too reckless!"

_"You cowards can just sit back and watch,"_ Dearka replied. _"Yzak and I are gonna smash those suits!"_

Saul sighed, but hit his comm unit. " Hey, Yzak," he called. "Athrun and Leon are gonna get there way ahead of us. I'll move on ahead and back them up until you guys get there."

"_What? What the hell are you talking about, Saul? You can't get there any faster than us! Or you'd already be there!_"

Saul smirked. "Yzak, do you know why the Earth Forces named this guy the Surge?"

_"How the hell should I know? More importantly, what the hell does that have to do with anything?"_

"Well, then let me show you," the normally quiet red coat said, kicking the throttle up to max.

The Surge's high-output thrusters kicked in, causing the mobile suit to literally surge through space generating enough G-forces to push Saul back into his seat, inertial compensators or not.

_'Wow! I knew it was going to be fast, but… wow!'_

Saul reached the battle zone around the same time that his two teammates from the _Vesalius_ had. He watched as Athrun went after the Strike and Leon moved forward to engage the Raven. As for himself, Saul decided to hang back for the moment. He wasn't about to destroy the Raven when it wasn't even aware of him. That was something cowards and snipers did. He had enough honor to let his opponent know who was going to shoot him down beforehand.

The Raven took aim at Leon and opened fire with its dual railgun. The ZAFT red coat grinned as he juked the Sentinel left and right, throwing his machine through a complex series of evasive maneuvers before taking a single, well-aimed potshot at the Raven with its concealed beam rifle, missing the mobile suit by the smallest of margins. It was close enough to singe the Raven's right shoulder armor.

_'Not bad... hm... not bad at all...' _the Sentinel's pilot thought as he stored the Sentinel's beam rifle. _'Oh, this is getting pretty exciting!'_

"Let's see how you like this!" he shouted as he lashed out with the right arm's Ouroboros claw. The Raven pulled to the side, evading the claw as it transformed into its mobile armor mode. The mobile suit hit its thrusters and closed in on Leon, opening fire with its machine guns. The Sentinel drew a single beam glave and began spinning it, deflecting the majority of the bullets coming at it. The few that hit their targets were hardly enough to waste any of the machine's power.

The Raven flew past the Sentinel, with Leon shifting his mobile suit around as he drew his beam rifle once more and fired. The Raven swerved to the side and dodged the shot, but didn't return fire, puzzling the ZAFT pilot. The Raven was almost on top of him when the mobile armor's bird-like feet angled up towards the Sentinel, short energy blades springing to life from them.

_'Damn...'_ Leon swore mentally as he deflected the Raven with his beam glaive. The mobile armor continued past him, transforming back into its mobile suit mode. The suit quickly spun around and fired another round from its dual railgun at the Sentinel, which the red coat dodged as he returned fire with his beam rifle.

_'Tch... why am I even playing _his_ game...?'_ Leon thought, grinning at the ridiculous notion. The Sentinel wasn't built for shooting matches, after all. It was armed with all manner of melee weapons to give it the edge in close combat.

Leon stored the Sentinel's beam rifle once more in favor of activating both beam blades. He gunned his thrusters and charged the Raven with the intent to kill, raising the unit's right arm and slashing downwards. The Raven's pilot managed to react quickly enough as he drew both beam sabers and crashed them against the Sentinel's weapon, the two sabers stopping the blade of frozen flame from reaching the mobile suit's body. Leon smiled, dialing the power down on his comm. unit. Though the direct contact from the units gave them a private communications link where anything said would be unheard by anyone else, the red coat had decided to err on the side of caution, so that absolutely _no one_ would pick up on his conversation with the enemy pilot.

"You're quite talented... even by Coordinator standards," Leon commented audibly over the private link. "Tell me... just what are you? I refuse to believe that you're a Natural, if the original states of these units' operating systems were any indication."

_"I'm not a Natural,_" the Raven's pilot replied as he broke the deadlock and swung one of his beam sabers. The Sentinel raised its left arm, blocking the Raven's beam saber with its more powerful beam blade and shrugging it aside before responding with a stab from one of its beam glaives. The Raven battered the glaive aside with one saber and struck with the other, which the Sentinel dodged by shifting its body to the side.

"_I'm a Coordinator, just like you... and just like the Strike's pilot,_" the pilot added, blocking a return lunge from the Sentinel's beam blade with his shield.

Leon's eyes widened slightly at that. "The _both_ of you?" he asked. "How did you end up on an Earth Forces warship, piloting their prototype mobile suits, no less?"

_"Actually, it's... a really long story,"_ the other pilot answered. The Raven raised one of its beam sabers as the Sentinel brought out both beam glaives. Leon crossed them above his machine's head to intercept the midnight blue mobile suit's saber, stopping its attack.

_"To put it simply: my family and friends are on that ship... we're all nothing more than civilian students... And just because I'm in this mobile suit doesn't mean I'm fighting for the Earth Forces. I'm not. I simply want to use my strength to protect them."_

Leon nodded. _'A noble reason... if only I could fight with such conviction...'_

"It seems like you have no choice but to fight," Leon said. "And I've been ordered to destroy you, whether I want to or not." The golden-brown-haired pilot's grip on his controls tightened.

"And regardless of how I feel about it..." he added. "I can't hold back, because to give any less than my best would be an insult to your pride and your conviction!" With that, he redirected even more power to his thrusters, letting him push harder against the Raven, forcing it back.

The Raven's pilot mimicked Leon's actions, giving the Raven the thrust power to hold ground, locking the mobile suits in place once more. But what the Raven's pilot didn't know was that Leon was only using 60% of the Sentinel's full thruster power, as opposed to him straining almost flat out to hold the mobile suit back. And what Leon didn't know... was that Saul had listened to their conversation, having boosted the power to his own comm. unit. Needless to say, the exchange was quite... informative.

"_Saul, what are you doing? I don't care if Leon's already winning, go get in there and help him against that machine. Dearka and Nicol, you get the ship. I'll help Athrun,_" Yzak said, slightly annoyed that Saul had remained dormant throughout the entire fight. The silver-haired pilot wasn't worried about Leon in the slightest - in fact, the golden-brown haired pilot and Athrun were the best amongst the Le Creuset team's red coats, but Yzak wanted to make sure Athrun didn't hog all the glory for destroying the Strike - glory that he wanted for himself.

As Leon and Chris broke their deadlock, a green beam lanced through the space in between the two suits. The Raven turned, and its pilot caught sight of the Surge moving to join the battle.

"_Hey, Leon, you okay?_" Saul asked. _"Let me take him on for awhile. Get back for now and cool your mobile suit down before your thrusters blow._

"I'm fine, don't worry about me," the Sentinel's pilot replied. "And thanks. I appreciate the sentiments. He's all yours."

Saul smiled. "Gotcha."

_'Sorry, Mr. Pilot...'_ he added. _'But this is war, I guess...'_

* * *

Elsewhere

As the battle raged on, the two forces involved failed to notice the presence of three observers: a CGUE and two GINN High Maneuver Types, all of them modified from the standard out-of-the-box units.

"So those are the Earth Alliance's prototype mobile suits and their new warship, are they?" the pilot of the CGUE, Diana Kessel, said. "They're quite impressive, I have to say."

_"That they are. Those guys at Morgenroete sure know how to make some sweet looking machines,"_ Ajay Cortez drawled.

_"Indeed,"_ Lucius Raveshaw said, adding in his own two cents. _"Though I have to wonder... if these machines are worth the destruction of Heliopolis..."_

_"That's true. I still think the Supreme Council should have sent us... for all he's worth, Le Creuset just can't cut it if all he's got is a bunch of little boys doing his dirty work,_" Ajay said.

"Ajay, may I remind you that one of those 'little boys' you're referring to happens to be my younger brother?" Diana replied. Though ZAFT itself had no formal ranking system, Diana Kessel was considered the lieutenant of the late Commander John Alaric, and thus the superior of all others in the team, and thus making her the next in line to assume command of the team when John Alaric died.

_"Sorry, ma'am. I did not mean anything offensive against Saul, ma'am,"_ Ajay quickly said, trying to avoid angering his superior.

"Don't worry about it," Diana replied. "My younger brother is a lazy and foolish child, but he also happens to be about the only one who can tell us what exactly happened at Heliopolis. I could probably trust Leon Vanyel to do the same, since any connection he has to the Supreme Council isn't public knowledge, but Le Creuset keeps him under a tight watch."

_"You suspect Le Creuset is going to lie about what happened at Heliopolis?"_ Lucius inquired.

"Through his teeth. Le Creuset is nothing but a snake," Diana answered, her tone laced with venom. "He'll tell Zala what happened, then Zala will manipulate the facts and make Orb and the Earth Forces look like the villains while Le Creuset becomes the ZAFT commander who tried everything to prevent Heliopolis' destruction."

_"Well... what did you expect from a couple of snakes like them?"_ Ajay spat in disgust.

All three of them were quite for a moment, simply watching the battle unfold.

_"Commander Kessel... should we get involved in this battle?"_ Lucius inquired, breaking the silence. After a moment of thought, Diana gave her verdict.

"No," she replied. "We'll watch for the time being, and see how things play out."

* * *

Chris cursed as he tried to dodge the Surge and the Sentinel's relentless waves of attacks. Counter-attacking was a whole different story, as the two machines used their speed and maneuverability to effortlessly dance around the Raven's few return shots.

_"Strike, Raven, where are you? The Buster and Blitz are pounding us. We need assistance,"_ Ensign Badgiruel called over the comm unit.

"I'd love to help out, but I'm not much better off than you are..." Chris replied as he rapidly dodged shots from the Surge and the Sentinel's armor-piercing Ouroboros claw units.

Chris honestly didn't know how much longer they were going to be able to keep this up. He was barely able to keep up with only one enemy machines. Being forced to fight two of them at the same time was something he wasn't able to keep up with. The main problem was that the suits weren't like the GINNs from before. These ones were counterparts to the Strike and his own machine, all developed under the same program. They were, at the very least, his machine's equal, and their pilots were highly skilled, surpassing all except the pilot of the CGUE, Rau Le Creuset.

The Surge quickly fired its Hakenfaust claw weapon at Chris as the Sentinel boosted forward and thrust its right beam glaive. Chris dove, avoiding the attacks, and fired a few more rounds from his dual railgun at the two machines. He was about to continue when a warning siren sounded through his cockpit. A quick check of the display showed Chris that his ammo indicator was flashing a warning at him. His dual railgun only had eight rounds left, which gave him four more shots until he was left with nothing but vulcans and beam sabers.

"Damn... I should take better care of how fast I use up my ammo," he said. "I guess I should hold back until I'm sure I'll hit my target..."

The Surge rushed forward, its two anti-armor swords in hand. Chris brought out one of his beam sabers and parried one of the swords with it and took the second sword on its shield. Chris quickly delivered a kick to the Surge, sending it tumbling away. His reprieve was short-lived, as the Sentinel charged, both beam blades ignited. Chris dodged one blade and blocked the other with his saber, breaking off almost instantly. He certainly wasn't crazy enough to remain within the Sentinel's reach for very long. Before anything else, though, a text-only message scrolled up on Chris' command console.

_Preparing to fire Lohengrins. Watch out._

Chris took a quick look around, spotting the Strike engaged with the Duel and the Aegis. _'Good, we're both out of the danger zone...'_

A few moments later, the Lohengrin cannons fired. The massive crimson beams of pure destructive energy raced towards the Nazca-class.

_'Looks like Lt. La Flaga's plan succeeded...'_

If he had, that meant that the Nazca-class had taken serious damage, which meant that it would likely fall back, bringing the mobile suits with it.

Chris was taken out of his reverie as a pair of stray shots from the Strike's beam rifle flew past him. He took a glance and noticed that Kira was being encircled by the two machines, and he was firing with reckless abandon to keep them from approaching.

"Hey Kira, try to conserve your shots!" Chris called out. "Your power could run out, or you could accidentally hit me! Either way, we're both dead if one of those happens!"

_"Sorry about that,"_ Kira replied as he took aim and fired once more... only for the beam to sputter and die. The Strike's phase-shift armor flickered for a moment before it deactivated completely.

_"No! I'm out of power!"_ Kira shouted in a panic. Chris' eyes widened as he saw the Duel draw both beam sabers and close in on its defenseless prey.

"Dammit! Kira, hold on!" Chris shouted, quickly transforming the Raven into its mobile armor mode and gunning his thrusters as high as they would go.

The problem was that the Aegis had the same idea, as it also transformed and sped towards the Strike. It became a race to see who would reach the Strike first, with the mobile suit and Kira's life on the line: the Aegis, the Raven, or the Duel's eventual shot.

As the Aegis and the Raven neared the Strike, Yzak took his kill shot... or would have if not for something unexpected.

The contest was decided by an outside factor, as beams from two different directions cut through space, barely missing the Raven and the Duel. The sudden shot forced Yzak to dodge, throwing his shot far off target... right into the flight path of the Aegis. Athrun immediately transformed the unit back into mobile suit mode and backed off, avoiding being vaporized by his own teammate's beam. Both turned to the source of the first beam... and stopped.

Taking advantage of the opening, the Raven's talons latched onto the Strike's shoulders, carrying it off towards the _Archangel_. The Buster, Blitz, and Surge stopped as well, their pilots obviously shocked as well. They didn't even bother to fire at the retreating Raven or its precious cargo.

"What the hell?" Yzak shouted, as his main screen gave him a view of the Sentinel, its beam rifle out and pointed in his general direction. "Leon! What the hell were you doing, getting in our way like that?"

_"Getting in _your _way, Yzak? You have any better jokes than that?"_ Leon replied calmly. _"I was aiming for the Raven. If you want to blame someone, blame the Raven for dodging my shot."_

Furious, Yzak punched his command console. He'd been robbed of his kill... all because the Raven had dodged a shot, and he was the next in line to be hit.

_"If you're going to get mad, don't get mad at me,"_ Leon added._ "It's not like I'm the one who put you there."_

Chris swore as he frantically dodged fire from the Duel, the Buster, and the Blitz. Though he had a more immediate problem in the form of the Aegis, which was now right on his tail. Oddly enough, it wasn't firing at the Strike and the Raven the way the other three machines were.

_'Why is he hesitating? One good shot and we're dead. So why isn't he firing?'_ Chris thought briefly, but immediately shook it aside. Thinking on a battlefield would probably get them both killed.

Chris hit his comm. unit and called out. "_Archangel_, the Strike's out of power and I don't have much left in the tank, either," he said. "If you can rig one of the catapults, launch one of the Striker Packs or we're all screwed here."

* * *

Athrun Zala stared at the Strike and the Raven, torn on the inside on what to do in this situation. The soldier in him was telling him to fire at the Raven, to end this mess right now. But if he did that, the Strike would be caught in the explosion. And without its Phase Shift armor, the Strike would most likely be heavily damaged, if it survived at all. And if he fired at the Strike, Kira would be…

_"Athrun! What are you waiting for? Shoot them down!"_ Yzak shouted, already in a foul mood after the little stunt Leon had pulled earlier.

Athrun gripped his controls hard. He couldn't bring himself to fire. Not at Kira. Not like this.

_"Dammit! I'll do it myself!_" Yzak shouted as he steadied his rifle, preparing to fire its one-shot grenade launcher at the two mobile suits.

_'No! Kira…!'_

Yzak was about to fire when a loud "_YEEHAW!_" came through the comm unit followed by a hail of bullets that flew at the Duel.

Most missed, but a few hit their mark, stunning Yzak, which was the goal to begin with. Everyone looked at the source of the shots. It was a Moebius Zero.

* * *

Chris let out the breath he had been holding. Lt. La Flaga had arrived at just the right moment to, unsurprisingly, save his and Kira's backsides.

"_Get the Strike lined up with the _Archangel_ so they can launch the Lightning Striker. I'll cover you,_" La Flaga ordered as he deployed the Zero's gunbarrels and began firing at the ZAFT units.

_'The Lightning Striker? I don't remember hearing about that one...'_ Chris thought, but again decided to save it for later.

"Right. Thanks, Lieutenant," Chris said, setting his course according to the telemetry the _Archangel_ had just sent him.

_"Don't mention it. Now get going. I don't want to have to fight all of them together, you know."_

Chris didn't need to be told twice. He pushed the Raven's throttle up to the max, draining most of the remaining battery power. The _Archangel_'s starboard catapult opened up as the Raven pulled into position.

"End of the line, Kira. The rest is up to you," Chris said as he released the Raven's hold on the Strike and pulled up and away from the other mobile suit.

_"Thanks. I'll take it from here,"_ Kira said as he jettisoned the Aile Striker from the Strike's back. The Lightning Striker emerged not too long after from the catapult, on a beeline course for the Strike.

From Chris' point of view, it had a very odd appearance. Unlike the Sword and Launcher Strikers, which were composed of several components, this one was similar to the Aile Striker in that it was a single, large unit with two large objects attached each side of the unit's main body.

A warning on his sensors showed the Sentinel approaching him, its two beam blades ignited. Chris cursed as he looked at his power readouts. He had very little time left, and the fast approaching Duel wasn't going to make things any easier for him.

Meanwhile, Kira docked with the Striker Pack, quickly reactivating his Phase Shift Armor. He combined the two objects into a single cannon the size of the Launcher's Agni hyper-impulse cannon and fired on the enemy mobile suits.

* * *

Saul watched as the recharged and rearmed Strike fired at them. The blasts were incredibly fast, and seemed even more destructive than the report on the large cannon that had taken off the arm of the commander's CGUE and blown a hole in Heliopolis... all in one shot. Fortunately, everyone managed to dodge the shots, for the most part, save for Yzak, who lost the right arm of his machine in the first shot.

The others had suffered much less significant damage - the Buster lost most of its right shoulder armor after being grazed by one of the blasts, the Aegis' shield was utterly annihilated by another, and the Blitz had lost the Gleipnir claw to save the rest of Nicol's unit. The Surge's speed had saved Saul from any hits, and Leon's proximity to the Raven had given him enough time to conclude that having that gun come anywhere _near_ being pointed at him was already skating on thin ice.

The Strike, Raven, and Moebius Zero now floated between them and the Earth Forces carrier - the line of defense between them and the legged ship.

"_Damn it!_" Yzak said, ready to cuss up a storm.

"_Yzak! Don't let your temper get the best of you! We need to retreat!_" Athrun said.

"_WHAT?_" Yzak shouted at the top of his lungs.

"The _Vesalius_ has been damaged," Saul added. "Or did you not even bother to look at the communiqué we received?"

"_Not only that... we're starting to run low on power as well, which will make things difficult if we want to keep on going,_" Leon said. _"At the moment, leaving with your life sounds a lot more appealing than dying, doesn't it?"_

"_I agree with Athrun and Leon,_" Nicol said, adding in his own two cents. "_If we don't fall back soon, it will be our turn to run out of power. And we don't have a means of recharging our battery mid-battle the way the Strike does._"

"Yeah," Saul muttered as he glanced at his own power indicator. "I'm running on fumes as it is. We should fall back while we can."

* * *

Chris breathed another sigh of relief as he watched the six enemy mobile suits retreat. They had won. Chris found himself wondering how much longer these guys were gonna be chasing them.

Something told him that they weren't going away any time soon.

_'That guy who pilots the Sentinel...'_ he thought. _'I get this strange feeling from him whenever he's in the battle...'_

Little did he know that Mu was thinking the exact same thing in the cockpit of his Zero.

* * *

"_Wow. Even with a three-to-one mobile suit advantage, they still couldn't even capture or destroy one of them. Hell, they couldn't even get the Moebius Zero,_" Ajay commented. "_That's sad. Real sad._"

"_Perhaps that's a testament to the skill of the pilots of the two mobile suits and the crew of the ship,_" Lucius replied.

"Perhaps that's the case. Or perhaps... it was just luck," Diana added. "We're returning to the Odin."

"_Yes, ma'am!_"

"_Yeah, boss._"

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, that's that for Phase 4. Hope you guys enjoyed it.**

**Anyways... I changed the battle around a little bit, but I still think it came out pretty well. Personally, I quite liked the Raven versus Sentinel duel.**

**At any rate, hope you readers out there will leave a review. Let me know what you think. Oh, and I want to extend a big thank you as usual to Akatsuki Leader13 and Maileesaeya for lending me some of their intellectual property.**

**Again, as per protocol, flames will be ignored. As will those who try to give me orders. I'll ignore those too.**

**My next update will be for "The Yondaime's Legacy", so if you read that story too, I'll have it up within the next month, so keep a look out. ^^**

**Ja ne, minna! ^^**

* * *

**Phase Shift Down** Mecha Spec Page

"_I have to say, I think I'm in love."_ – Saul Kessel, upon going over the Surge's specs

**GAT-X204 Surge Gundam:  
**Description:  
The Surge Gundam is one of six prototype Earth Alliance mobile suits captured by ZAFT. Its X200-series frame is designed to support special weapons and systems, in particular the high-speed thrusters that give it theoretically unsurpassed speed. Using this speed, the Surge is intended to spearhead any and all attack formations. Unlike the other prototypes, the Surge carries only a beam rifle, with no additional beam weaponry, due to the high power consumptions of its high-speed thrusters. After its capture, this machine is permanently assigned to ZAFT pilot Saul Kessel.

**Model number:** GAT-X204**  
Code name:** Surge Gundam**  
Unit type:** prototype high-speed assault mobile suit**  
Manufacturer:** Morgenroete, Inc.**  
Operator(s):** Earth Alliance (Atlantic Federation); ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)**  
First deployment:** January 25, C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** overall height 18.54 meters**  
Weight:** max gross weight 76.3 metric tons**  
Armor materials:** unknown**  
Powerplant:** ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown**  
Equipment and design features:** sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) Armor; high-output pulse burst thrusters**  
Fixed armaments:** 2 x "Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head  
2 x DES-G07D+ anti armor sword (set includes long and short swords), mounted on hip armor, hand-carried in use  
"Hakenfaust" piercer lock, mounted on left forearm**  
Optional hand armaments:** 55mm high-energy beam rifle, power rating unknown  
**Pilot:** Saul Kessel

**Appearance:** The Surge resembles the Blitz, save it lacks the shield/weapon unit on the right arm of the Blitz and has additional thrusters mounted on its back.  
**Colors:** Dark green torso, forearms, head, shoulders and shins with blue trim. Biceps, thighs, and faceplate are white, with a gold V-crest and head spikes**  
Notes:** The second machine I've borrowed from Akatsuki Leader13's _Gundam Seed: A Retelling_. This one's meant to be _the_ speed demon among the prototype mobile suits, and frankly, I like it. Dancing in and out of engagements, using the beam rifle for range and the anti-armor swords for close combat, it's really one unit I like despite having rather limited armaments. Then again, I've always been a fan of high-speed Gundams, and I'm in awe of how well this one turned out. Hats off to Akatsuki Leader13 for this, and get ready for the sequel to his recently concluded _Gundam Seed: A Retelling_.


	5. Phase 5: Vanishing Gundam

**Well, here's Phase 5. I'm sorry it took a while, but I digress. It's... a bit different... but at the same time... it's simply, again, a rehash. I apologize for that.**

**Disclaimer: See previous disclaimers. It's annoying to keep putting it up over and over.**

* * *

Phase 5: The Vanishing Gundam

January 25 C.E. 71

* * *

Aboard the _Archangel_

Murrue sighed in relief as the ship brought itself down from full-combat status. It had been a real mess, but they had made it through against all odds, thanks in no small part to Kira Yamato and Chris Dante. Even by Coordinator standards, she felt that they possessed an extraordinary amount of natural talent. Seeing the pair hold back six machines had told her that quite clearly.

"All right..." she said. "Recall the Strike, the Raven, and the Zero. As soon as they're back on board, we'll head for Artemis."

Badgiruel nodded. "Regardless of it being a Eurasian base, I hope they'll be willing to provide us with some assistance..."

The rest of the bridge crew could only feel the same way.

* * *

Aboard the _Gamow_

"Dammit!" Yzak shouted as he slammed his fist into his locker. "It's unbelievable! There were _six of us_! And we lost to only _two mobile suits_! How humiliating!"

Saul sighed, shaking his head as Yzak went on ranting and raving about their so-called 'defeat' during the last battle. But he had to admit that being defeated by two opponents was rather embarrassing. On the other hand, he also thought Yzak needed some anger management. The guy blew his top way too easily.

The silver-haired pilot suddenly grabbed Athrun by his flight suit and slammed him right into his locker, rattling the entire row.

"And you! Athrun! What the hell were you doing? You had a clear shot! You could have destroyed those two and ended this!"

The rest of the team, especially Leon, could only feel the same about that. There was a sizable window of opportunity for Athrun to fire at the Strike and the Raven. They were virtually defenseless and destroying them would not have been a problem, especially since Athrun's Aegis was in mobile armor form, allowing it to fire with the much more powerful "Scylla" multi-phase cannon. But despite all that going for him, he hadn't fired. Thinking about it, Yzak's anger and frustration could somehow be justified. But, acting on it was another matter altogether.

"Yzak, that's enough!" Nicol said forcefully. "The enemy is out there, in the legged ship! Not in here!"

The silver-haired pilot let go of Athrun, but it was still evident by his facial expression that he was still pissed. "It's because of this coward that we lost to two _Naturals_!" he grumbled.

At that point, Leon finally decided to speak up. "Yzak, once again, you need to stop underestimating Naturals," he said. "But that's not the point I want to make, nor is it one I've not tried to point out in the past. The real point here is that those two pilots aren't Naturals."

The rest of the team, sans Saul and Athrun, looked at Leon like he'd grown a second head. Saul, because he regarded Leon as if it was something he expected, and Athrun, because he was looking away to hide the conflict etched onto his face.

"What? Are you kidding me?" Yzak nearly shouted in reply.

"How can you be so sure?" Nicol asked.

Leon smiled grimly. "I had a nice little chat with the pilot of the Raven. You can ask Saul if you don't believe me, I'm sure he was listening to us," he said, surprising the prodigious, if lazy, hacker. "And besides, what point would there be to lying about something like that?"

Yzak's anger, if it was even possible, rose to the next level. "So we have a pair of traitors flying those things? Then we'll have to destroy them."

"Traitors, huh?" Leon echoed, shaking his head. "Those pilots are hardly traitors, Yzak. Genes do not define loyalties."

Saul nodded. "Leon's right," he said, earning an annoyed growl from Yzak. "And regardless of whether the pilots are Naturals or Coordinators... our mission is to capture those machines, or destroy them."

Yzak grunted in agreement, somewhat placated for the moment. As the team began changing out of their flight suits and into the uniforms that marked them as Redcoats, no one noticed the depressed expression that Athrun wore on his face. Nor was anyone remotely aware of the secret he carried in his heart.

* * *

The _Ardenne_'s Bridge

"Bring us toward the _Vesalius_ and the _Gamow_," Diana Kessel ordered as she, Lucius Raveshaw, and Ajay Cortez stepped onto the bridge of the Alaric Team's flagship, the _Ardenne_. "When we're within range, hail the _Vesalius."_

"Understood, Commander," the ship's captain, Captain Lee, replied as the bridge crew set about their duties with the customary efficiency Diana had come to expect of them.

Diana took her seat beside the bridge's tactical display as the _Ardenne_, along with its sister ships, the _Reiche_ and the _Sertürner_, approached the two ZAFT warships that made up the Le Creuset Team. A few minutes later, the main viewscreen sprung to life, showing the bridge of the _Vesalius_, and more importantly, its captain, Frederick Ades, and the Le Creuset Team's infamous masked commander, Rau Le Creuset.

"Ah... Commander Kessel, what a surprise," the masked snake of a man greeted. "To what do we owe a visit from the Alaric Team?"

"Someone has to keep track of your collosal failure and incompetence," Diana said bluntly. When Commander John Alaric had still been in charge of the aptly named Alaric Team, he had assigned Diana to be his spokesperson whenever it concerned talking to, or about, Rau Le Creuset. The man hadn't known why, but Diana Kessel was definitely a natural at it.

"First off, your failure to destroy a new enemy warship in dry dock," Diana continued. "Second, your involvement in the damaging and subsequent destruction of a neutral civilian colony. Third, your failure to capture not one, but three prototype mobile suits. Fourth, repeated failures to secure or destroy said warship and mobile suits. And now this, your latest failure. You had two warships and six prototype mobile suits at your disposal, Le Creuset, and you were forced to withdraw by a battleship, a lone mobile armor, and two mobile suits. All this in less than twenty-four hours. Frankly, I don't see how you'll escape any form of punishment, regardless of whether Patrick Zala is helping you or not."

"We shall see, Commander Kessel," Rau replied smugly. "Speaking of the council, the _Vesalius_ has been recalled to the homeland, and not just for repairs and resupplying. They wish for two of my pilots and I to present a report to them about the events that transpired at Heliopolis. I was going to order the _Gamow_ and its complement of four mobile suits to continue pursuing the legged ship, but if you wish to, you may take command of it for the time being and try your hand at capturing the ship."

It became abundantly clear to those listening to the conversation what the masked commander was trying to do. He wanted the Alaric Team to try and fail just as he had. That way, Rau could kill two birds with one stone: save face, and discredit Diana Kessel, and the men and women under her command. But, looking at it from another point of view, Rau was also taking a tremendous gamble. If the Alaric Team succeeded where Le Creuset had not, it would only prove to be a further stain on his record, and ultimately make him look like a fool.

"We'll play your game, Le Creuset," Diana answered without hesitation. "However, I demand a copy of all the data you have on the legged ship and the prototype mobile suits. And I mean all of it."

"But of course," Rau replied. "The data will reach you momentarily. Good luck to you and your team, Commander Kessel. With the legged ship inside Artemis, you'll need all the luck you can get."

"I don't need luck, Le Creuset."

"Oh, and one last thing, Commander Kessel," Rau said with a smirk. "The Hawk of Endymion, Mu La Flaga, is on board the legged ship. I just thought I'd let you know."

Several members of the _Ardenne_'s bridge crew spared glances at Diana. She had been the fifth mobile suit pilot that Mu La Flaga had shot down during the Battle of the Endymion Crater, and they all knew of her desire to avenge that loss and humiliation. Whenever the Hawk was brought up, Diana reminded everyone why she was known as "The Ice Queen of the Alaric Team".

"I don't need you to tell me that, Le Creuset," Diana replied coldly as she stood up. "There is only one Moebius Zero left and only one man capable of manipulating those gunbarrels. And that man is Mu La Flaga. But mark my words: I _will_ shatter the Umbrella of Artemis, and I _will_ capture the legged ship and its mobile suits."

* * *

Eurasian Military Base, Artemis

"Well, it seems that you are indeed Lieutenant Murrue Ramius, Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, and Ensign Natarle Badgiruel. And these look to be authentic Earth Alliance Atlantic Federation IDs," the base's portly commander said, turning from his computer to face the three EA officers. "I am Gerard Garcia, Commander of Artemis Base."

Murrue was about to speak when Garcia continued talking. "I apologize for any inconvenience, but we can't be too careful these days. After all, you were an unidentified ship being followed by two ZAFT warships. But now that that has been cleared up, I welcome you to Artemis Base. Stay for however long you wish to."

Murrue immediately decided that she didn't like this man. His voice and demeanor reminded her too much of that of a bureaucrat's, not a professional soldier. He probably didn't even give a damn about anyone on board the _Archangel_. All this man cared about was getting his hands on the _Archangel_, its prototype mobile suits, and the reward he would receive for presenting them to his superior.

"Thank you very much, Commander," Murrue said with forced politeness. _'Diplomacy first... you don't want to start something you'll regret...'_ she reminded herself.

"But all we need to do is resupply, and we'll be on our way," she continued.

"I'm afraid that's out of the question. Although the damaged _Nazca_-class has withdrawn from this sector, the _Laurasia_-class is still out there, just on the edge of our sensors. And it's not alone," Garcia said as he typed a command into the computer.

The large screen behind Garcia's desk showed the _Laurasia_-class and three _Nazca_-class warships. Painted on each wing of the three _Nazca_-class vessels was a black hawk in flight.

Everyone there knew what those warships were - ZAFT's dreaded Alaric Team. They were, without a doubt, the best space-based combat unit fighting in the war. Feared and respected by both sides, the Alaric Team had been present in just about every major space battle of the war, from the Bloody Valentine to Endymion Crater. And more often than not, they had been the cause of the Earth Forces' defeats in those battles. Originally led and formed by the brilliant John Alaric, ZAFT's legendary "Black Hawk", the Alaric Team was known for their extensive use of high-speed attacks and guerrilla tactics. On numerous occasions, they had devastated EA battle groups many times their size with ease. Worse yet for the EA, was that after John Alaric's assassination, the Alaric Team had become more driven, more focused, and ever more deadly. It was as though they sought to prove to everyone that even with the loss of their commander, they were still just as effective and terrifying.

"Damn," Mu cursed. "I hoped I'd never see those ships again after Endymion."

"As you can see, you've attracted a lot of attention. Why would you want to go out with the Alaric Team chasing after you?" Garcia asked as a smirk formed on his lips. "You're all safe here. They can't get close enough to Artemis without us detecting them and activating the Umbrella. And we all know that nothing can get through the barrier. They'll eventually get tired of waiting and leave. It happens all the time."

"You've clearly never seen the Alaric Team in combat," Mu countered. "Their reputation is well deserved."

"On the contrary, I have, Lt. La Flaga. I was at Endymion. I know just how vicious they are," Garcia replied. "But not even they can penetrate this base's defenses."

"Don't underestimate the Alaric Team, Commander Garcia," Mu said. "Many skilled commanders have... and paid the price because of it."

"In any case, I suggest that you get some R and R," Garcia said, completely ignoring Mu's advice. "You appear to be exhausted. I'll have some rooms prepared for you."

Garcia pushed the call button on his desk, and a pair of guards entered the room. Garcia hadn't said a word, but they all knew what was going on. The entire crew of the _Archangel_ and their passengers were prisoners... of their own allies, no less.

* * *

Aboard the _Vesalius_

Leon sighed as he walked down the ship's corridors towards the quarters that he now shared with Athrun Zala. The commander aside, they were the only two pilots left on board the _Vesalius_, and, regardless of their part in the destruction of Heliopolis, it left a sour taste in his mouth… not that Heliopolis' destruction hadn't affected him beforehand. The Redcoat could only wonder why things just had to go turn out like this and go straight to hell.

That aside, Leon was also growing ever more curious concerning Athrun's behavior. He now knew that the pilots of the Strike and Raven were Coordinators... but it still didn't answer the question that would _not_ stop repeating itself. _"Why is he so reluctant to fire?"_

When Leon reached his door, still lost in his thoughts, he absently hit the panel on the side and stepped in. He looked up for a brief moment as he stepped through the door, and an amused smile crossed his lips.

_'Speak of the devil...'_ he thought. There he was, the center of many of his questions, Athrun Zala, sitting cross-legged on his bed and tinkering with another one of the abominations that he called Haros.

Athrun looked up at Leon and smiled sheepishly, a screwdriver in one hand and a half-finished piece of internal framework in the other.

"Sorry about the mess," Athrun said. "Since we're being recalled to the homeland, I thought I'd make something for Lacus."

Leon nodded, but said nothing as he sat down on the edge of his own bed, opening a couple of buttons on his uniform from the collar down before resting his elbows on his knees. For a few minutes, the only sounds heard in the room came from Athrun and his various tools working on his latest creation, with the occasional grunt or curse from the ultramarine-haired Redcoat.

Ultimately, Leon decided to see if he could find his answers and spoke up. "Hey, Athrun..."

Athrun looked up from the unfinished Haro. "Yeah?"

"Is there..." Leon said, a little hesitant. "... something you're not exactly telling us? About the pilot of the Strike?"

Athrun froze almost instantly, his grip on his tools and the parts instantly gone. He lowered his head glumly, his bangs shielding his teal-colored eyes from his teammate's icy blue gaze. The golden-brown-haired pilot simply remained silent, giving Athrun the choice on whether to talk about it or not.

"Listen... Leon..." Athrun finally said. "Do you still remember when I talked about... where I lived before moving to the PLANTs?"

"Yeah, you were living in Copernicus City, right?" Leon replied.

Athrun nodded. "That's right, you remember. I attended Lunar Preparatory School there, and it was there I also met my best friend."

Leon leaned in just a little closer. This was something new, and he also had a slight hunch where this might be going.

"His name was Kira... Kira Yamato... we were the best of friends, always together," Athrun continued, a sad smile on his face. "He was supposed to move to the PLANTs a short while after I did, but... he never came. We never saw each other after that. But, I recently discovered where he's been."

Leon felt his stomach plummet. He had a _really_ good idea where Athrun was going, and he just hoped that wasn't the case. "So... where has he been?"

Athrun finally looked up, and met Leon's eyes. "He's on the legged ship, Leon... he's the Strike's pilot..."

The golden-brown-haired pilot felt an icy hand clench itself around his heart. There it was: the answer he needed. But, even with this newfound knowledge, Leon had no words to offer to Athrun. What was there to say in regards to such a reason? All Leon knew was that Athrun's road would only become harder as time passed.

Leon lowered his head and closed his eyes. _'War is truly a cruel thing... turning friend... against friend...'_ he thought. _'And it will only end... when one of them has been... destroyed. Is this the only answer we can find?'_

Light had been shed, and answers found... yet all it did was bring more chaos within. After a few seconds, he spoke.

"Thank you... for trusting me, Athrun..." he said quietly. Athrun, who had gone back to working on his Haro, looked at Leon in surprise. "On my honor, I swear that this will stay between you and me. And... if we ever run into the legged ship again... I'll try to avoid hitting the Strike's cockpit."

Athrun gave a small smile. "Yeah. Thanks, Leon..."

* * *

Aboard the _Gamow_

Saul sighed as he made his way down the corridors of the _Gamow_, heading for his quarters. With Commander Le Creuset, Athrun, Leon and the _Vesalius_ gone, the _Gamow_ was now, for the time being, under the command of the Alaric Team, which meant it was under the command of, dreadfully enough, his sister. He could already feel her whips at his back.

"Hey, Saul!" Dearka called out from behind.

Saul turned to his teammate. "Yeah? Something come up?"

"Nah, nothing. I'm just curious about your sister and the Alaric Team. We're gonna be working with them for a bit so I figured I should ask you about them."

"Well, I don't know much about the Alaric Team beyond what everybody else knows," Saul said. "But my sister, that's a whole other story. Let me give you some advice for when you deal with her: Don't lie to her, don't argue with her and obey her orders. Do that, and... well... you'll avoid castration."

Dearka stared at him in disbelief. "Y-you're kidding, right?"

Saul stared back him with a dead serious expression. "Nope."

"Oh, man. She sounds crazy," Dearka remarked.

"Not really. Don't let her hear you say that, and don't do anything else that might piss her off, unless you want her to kick your ass," he replied. "In fact, I heard she broke some idiot's arms after he almost got her squad killed during a training exercise."

"Damn, man. That's one woman I wouldn't wanna piss off, even on her good days..." Dearka said.

Saul nodded. "Tell me about it."

"How are you even related to someone like that?"

"Actually, I'm the black sheep of the family. She's the one who really takes after my parents," Saul admitted. He sighed before adding, "Well, we still have a couple of hours until the briefing, so I'm gonna go take a nap. See ya later."

"See you, then," Dearka said, waving off Saul.

A few minutes later, Saul entered his quarters and crashed onto his bed. He glanced at the opposite bed - Rusty's bed.

Saul sighed. It was hard to believe that his friend was dead. He found it strange. Just this morning, he had talked, joked and laughed with Rusty, Miguel, and the others. And now they were dead. They were gone forever. He remembered Matthew talking about how when the war was over, he was going to propose to his girlfriend. He remembered Miguel's reason for becoming a soldier in the first place: to earn money for his sick younger brother. Now who would help his brother? Whoever said 'war is hell' was right.

A beeping sound alerted Saul to a flashing light on his terminal. He groaned. Someone was calling him. He reluctantly got up and moved to the terminal built into his desk. He sat at the chair and pushed the call button. "Yes?"

"A private message from the _Odin_ for you," the _Gamow_'s communications officer said.

Saul sighed. No doubt about it - it was his sister. "Patch it through."

The display instantly changed to the face of his sister. "_Is this channel secure?_" she asked.

"Give me a moment," Saul replied as he typed in a series of commands on the terminal. "Oh, yeah. It's nice to see you too, sis."

Saul had hacked the _Gamow_'s systems within a few hours of coming on board. Sadly, it had been painfully easy to hack. And so were most normal military computers for that matter. But that was a whole other story.

"Okay. It's secure," Saul said. "What do you want?"

"_Any and all unedited records from all operations during the incident at Heliopolis and all the data on the Earth Forces mobile suits and the legged ship. I don't trust the data he gave us,_" his sister said, her tone cold and blunt, as usual.

"Is that all? I thought this was going to be something hard," Saul remarked as he started typing, oblivious to the icy stare his sister was sending him.

A moment later, he had transferred a copy of all the data on the mobile suits and legged ship to the _Ardenne_. "There's the mobile suit data," he said as he started searching for the rest of the data Diana wanted. "And here comes the… What?"

"_What is it?_"

Saul stared in disbelief at the screen. "All the data on Heliopolis and its destruction is gone…" he said as searched for some trace of the data. "There's no trace of it. All the data is completely gone."

"_Le Creuset, that sneaky bastard,_" Diana cursed. "_He must have removed all traces of what really happened just in case I'd try something like this. And I almost had him too._"

"You really hate Commander Le Creuset, don't you?" Saul commented.

"_Our parents worry a lot about Patrick Zala,_" said Diana. "_And while Zala is dangerous, he is little more than a mad dog. Wild, angry, predictable. The truly dangerous one is Le Creuset. That man is a viper hiding in the bushes, waiting to strike upon his unsuspecting victims. A man like that is the one to truly fear._"

* * *

January 26 C.E. 71

Aboard the _Gamow_

The top soldiers of the Alaric Team, the captain of the _Gamow_ and the remaining pilots of the Le Creuset Team were gathered around the display table in the back of the bridge. The screen of the table displayed a read out of the Artemis Base and its Umbrella shield.

There were five so-called 'officers' in the Alaric Team: its commander and four of its senior members. First among them was Lucius Raveshaw, the current second-in-command of the Alaric Team. He was a dark-skinned man of average size and height, clad in a ZAFT Redcoat uniform. His white hair was cut in standard military style, and his red eyes always seemed to be studying and analyzing everyone and everything around him.

Standing next to him, was the man who many considered to be the polar opposite of Lucius, Ajay Cortez. Also clad in a red uniform, and with a toothpick in his mouth, Ajay was a bit thinner and taller than Lucius. Ajay's demeanor and stance were quite different from those of his comrade. Where Lucius was standing straight and at attention, like a proper soldier, Ajay was relaxed and laid-backed, with his long, dirty blond hair tied into a loose ponytail.

Next in line was Basque Gideon, commander of the _Re__iche_ and its mobile suit teams. He was a giant of a man, clad in a white uniform denoting his commander status. Basque's head was almost entirely shaved bald except for a long braided ponytail of black hair and a matching beard and mustache.

The fourth officer was Lisa DaCosta, commander of the _Sertürner_ and its mobile suit teams. Clad in a white uniform using the male pants instead of the optional female skirt, she had short brown hair and green eyes.

And finally, there was the Ice Queen of the Alaric Team herself, Diana Kessel, clad in a white uniform. Just like Lisa DaCosta, she opted for the male pants instead of the skirt. Her eyes were an icy blue, much like her icy demeanor, and she had short, straight black hair.

"The Umbrella of Artemis is a lightwave barrier that blocks any and all incoming attacks. But it also blocks their attacks as well," Lucius Raveshaw said as they studied the diagram.

"So, basically, we can't do anything and they can't do anything," Dearka said. "What a useless weapon."

"Perhaps. But, as a purely defensive weapon, it's formidable," Lucius said. "Added to this is the strategic unimportance of the Artemis Base. Because it's unimportant, no one has come up with a means to break through the shield. However, this works to our advantage as well."

"What? How does that help us?" Yzak asked.

"It's quite simple, really," Ajay said smugly. "All those EA guys inside Artemis have grown fat, lazy, and complacent. They think that nothing can break through their precocious Umbrella. Which means when we do break it, they'll run around in shock like a chicken with its head cut off."

"Exactly," Lucius said.

"Let's just smash this 'Umbrella of Artemis' already," Basque said.

"Easier said than done, Basque," Lucius said. "I doubt anything short of a nuclear explosion could damage that barrier."

"Okay. So what's the plan? Wait for them to come out?" Dearka said with a chuckle.

"Quit joking around, Dearka," an annoyed Yzak said. "What will the commander say when he gets back and we haven't finished this off? Do you want to be the one to tell him that we did nothing? We'd be humiliated!"

"Enough," Diana said. "The Umbrella of Artemis will fall today."

"And just how are we gonna do that?" Dearka asked. "As long as the shield is up, we can't attack."

"And the only time they turn the Umbrella off is when we're out of their sensor range," Saul added. "But the second we get close to them, they'll raise it back up again."

"There is a way to break that shield and shatter Artemis," Diana said. "The Blitz."

"The Blitz?" Yzak echoed.

Nicol nodded as he gazed at the display. "That's right. My Blitz has the same Phase Shift Armor that the other machines have."

He smiled as he looked up at his teammates and superiors. "But it also has... another interesting feature."

* * *

The _Ardenne_, the _Reiche_, the ___Sertürner_, and the _Gamow_ all made maneuvers that turned them away from Artemis, giving the appearance of them preparing to leave the area. As they did, the _Gamow_'s hanger bay doors opened. A second later, the Blitz launched. In a few seconds, it disappeared from sight and from sensor readouts.

Now, all the ships had to do was remain out of sensor range and wait for Nicol to finish his mission.

Blissfully unaware of the approaching mobile suit, the officers in charge deactivated the Umbrella of Artemis, still fully believing that they were completely safe from anything and everything.

If only they knew how wrong they were right now.

* * *

"Mirage Colloid, huh? It seems fitting for Nicol - A weapon fit for a coward," Dearka commented as they waited for their moment to launch.

"Nicol's not a coward," Saul replied, defending his friend. "He's the bravest of us all. He chose to go to war when he could have easily stayed back at the PLANTs. The four of us joined ZAFT for our own reasons, but Nicol simply wants to protect the PLANTs. Frankly, I don't think that I could ever do what he does."

"Oh? Why did you join ZAFT then?" Dearka asked.

"To get my parents and my sister off my back," Saul replied sheepishly. "I was fated to join ZAFT the moment I was born. So I'm just going with the flow."

* * *

The _Archangel_

Inside Artemis

Chris was getting annoyed at this whole situation. As soon as they had docked in Artemis, the ship had been boarded and they had been arrested. Of course, the soldiers hadn't said they were under arrest. But it was definitely a joke - a very bad one. No doubt, the commander of this base wanted to present this ship and the mobile suits on board to the Eurasian government. The selfish bastard would probably get promoted for it.

Now all the civilians and the entire crew, minus Lieutenant Ramius, Lieutenant La Flaga, and Ensign Badgiruel, were crammed into the mess hall of the ship with armed soldiers standing guard, waiting. And they had been waiting for a number of hours already.

The mess hall doors opened and a fat toad of a man in an officer's uniform, accompanied by another group of armed soldiers, stepped inside.

"I am Commander Gerard Garcia," the officer said. "Who are the pilots of the mobile suits in the hangar?"

"What? You mean the captain didn't tell you?" one of the bridge officers said, though Chris didn't know his name. "Or do you just not have the clearance to know?"

One of the soldiers punched the man. "Who are the pilots?" Garcia said in a more forceful tone.

Chris glanced at Kira, who was sitting next to him. From the look Kira gave him, he was aware of what was going on. If they simply stepped forward, the Artemis commander would be immediately suspicious. By his demeanor alone, it was obvious that this man could not be trusted.

"Isn't it obvious?" Neumann said. "It was Lieutenant La Flaga and Ensign Badgiruel."

Garcia smirked. "I don't think so. We were watching the battle. There was a Moebius Zero and La Flaga is the only Zero pilot left. And Badgiruel is a bridge officer, not a pilot. So, who are the pilots?"

No one said anything. Garcia scanned the room, trying to figure out who the pilots were. "Hmm...I wonder..." Garcia said as he started walking towards where they were sitting. "The captain of this ship is a woman. So perhaps the pilots are women."

Garcia stopped where Chris, Kira and the others were sitting. "And perhaps, they're disguised as civilians so we won't suspect them of being the pilots," he said before he grabbed Flay's arm and pulled her out of her seat.

"Hey! Let me go!" Flay shouted.

Sai shot up out of his seat. "Leave her alone!" he shouted.

Garcia backhanded Sai, sending him crashing into the table. Before anyone could react, Kira stood up. "Let her go! I'm the one you want!"

Garcia tossed Flay into the arms of a guard. "You expect me to believe that a mere child was piloting one of those mobile suits? Get real, brat! Who are the real pilots?"

Garcia then punched Kira in the face. Or would have if Kira wasn't a Coordinator. Kira sidestepped the blow with inhuman speed, grabbed Garcia's wrist and throwing the fat commander over his back and onto hard ground. One of the soldiers quickly grabbed Kira, restraining him, before any more damage could be done.

"See!" a panicking Flay said. "He is the pilot! He's a Coordinator!"

Garcia's eyes lit up as he got up. "Then that changes everything." he said, eying Kira. "Who is the other pilot?"

Kira didn't say anything.

"Very well then. Take the two of them to interrogation. I want the name of that other pilot."

Flay's eyes widened in shock. She opened her mouth to say something. But before she could, Chris stood up. "I'm the other pilot. You can leave her alone now."

Garcia smiled. "You're a Coordinator as well?"

"Would take my word on it? Or would prefer I prove it by kicking your ass like Kira just did?"

A guard standing next to Chris punched him in the side of the head. Chris stumbled from the impact of the blow but managed to stay standing. He quickly turned to the soldier and slipped into a martial arts stance. He kicked the guard in the stomach, sending him crashing onto the table behind him. Chris then heard the sound of several guns cocking.

_'Yeah...I'm gonna stop while I'm ahead...'_

Chris sighed as he raised his hands in surrender.

"That wasn't too hard now, was it?" Garcia said as he called for several guards. "Take them to the hangar at once. Bring the girl as well."

* * *

"So, you want us to remove the locks on OS's, right?" Kira asked as they stopped before the two mobile suits.

"For starters. But I imagine that the two of you could do a lot more than just that," Garcia said. "For example, you could analyze the designs of these machines and build another or even a weapon that's effective against these kinds of mobile suits."

"Well, first off, we're students from Orb. We're not soldiers, nor are we high-paid military contractors," Chris said. "So why would we even do such a thing?"

"Ah...But the two of you are already traitors to your fellow Coordinators, aren't you?" Garcia said smugly.

"Traitors...?" Kira echoed, visibly affected by the poison that was Garcia's words.

"I have no idea what your reasons were, nor do I care. Regardless, you two did betray your own people."

"That's a lie," Chris said. "Don't listen to this idiot, Kira. We're not traitors to anyone."

"Then why were the two of you fighting for the Earth Alliance against ZAFT soldiers?" Garcia asked, still smug and confident.

"I'm not a part of ZAFT, nor am I a citizen of the PLANTs... not anymore. And I'm hardly a member of the Earth Forces!" Chris countered defiantly. "And my 'people' are my friends aboard the _Archangel_, not the people living in the PLANTs. Genes don't define who we are!"

"Very well then," Garcia said, turning to one of his men. "Throw the girl out an airlock."

Kira's, Chris' and Flay's eyes all widened in horror. "Unless, of course, you wish to remove the locks."

The two Coordinators nodded grimly. They had no choice. Garcia had everyone aboard the _Archangel_ as his hostages. Kira and Chris quietly followed his demands and entered the cockpits of their machines. Getting themselves comfortable, they started typing, appearing to remove the OS locks.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise, like an explosion, and a tremor shook the base. A split second later, it was followed by more tremors and noises. Anyone with half a brain could tell what was happening: the base was under attack. Someone or something had gotten through the Umbrella of Artemis.

Kira and Chris used the confusion to push the technicians gathered around the cockpits of their mobile suits out of the way and closed the hatches. The two machines came to life, activating their Phase Shift Armor as they used brute force to break through the clamps that were holding them in place.

"What the hell are you doing?" Garcia shouted furiously.

"We're under attack!" Kira replied through the loudspeaker. "What do you think we're doing?"

The Raven knelt down in front of Flay, Garcia and his men, its left arm extended. Chris surely wasn't about to leave Flay with that man, even if he had to take her into combat with him. "Flay, hop on."

Before anyone could stop her, Flay climbed onto the hand and the Raven stood back up. Chris brought the Raven's hand to the cockpit, opening the hatch and allowing Flay to get in.

"Thank you," Flay said as she squeezed into the space between the seat and wall.

"Don't mention it," Chris replied as he brought the Raven's secondary systems online. "Oh, and don't touch anything."

Chris opened up the comm to the Strike. "Kira, let's get out of here and see what we can do."

_"Right,"_ Kira replied as he equipped the Strike with the Sword Striker Pack.

"You know, you really shouldn't have said that," Chris said to Flay as the Raven stepped onto the _Archangel_'s portside catapult.

"What?"

"What you said in the mess hall. You shouldn't have told them that Kira was a Coordinator."

"But it was the truth. And besides, they're our allies," Flay said weakly in her defense.

"Allies? Perhaps Eurasia is an ally. But that commander doesn't give a damn about us. All he cares about is the promotion he'll get for handing over the _Archangel_ and these mobile suits to his superiors. Hell, he was about to throw you out an airlock if we didn't do what he wanted!" Chris said. "The world isn't black and white, Flay. So don't think of everything as that."

Flay didn't say anything as the Raven and the Strike launched from the _Archangel_ and into growing chaos of the Artemis Base dock.

* * *

Artemis Airspace

The _Ardenne_, the _Reiche_, the ___Sertürner_, and the_ Gamow_ closed in on the now-defenseless Artemis. With the lightwave shield projectors destroyed, they had an opening. And now it was time to finish the job.

The Duel, the Buster, the Surge and the Alaric Team's custom GINNs were quickly launched from their respective warships.

"Listen up men," Diana Kessel said over the comm. "Team 3 will enter the hanger first. Focus your fire on the docked ships and the base itself. Team 1 will follow Team 3 and attack the legged ship while Team 2 will remain behind in reserve to catch escaping enemy ships. I want the legged ship's engines and weapons disabled, as well as their two mobile suits disabled and captured. If that is not possible, then permission is granted to destroy them. But leave the Moebius Zero to me. Is this understood?"

Only her brother and the rest of the Creuset Team responded. The men and women of the Alaric Team were had no need to respond. They would carry out her orders to the letter.

"Good. Let us end both Artemis and the legged ship here and now!" she announced. "For the Black Hawk!"

_"For the Black Hawk!"_ the pilots of the Alaric Team replied before the mobile suits rocketed off towards the Artemis Base and their prey.

Standard mobile armors scrambled out of the large main hangar in an attempt to engage them, but they were no match for the aces of the Alaric Team. A hail of bullets and beams tore through mobile armors. Basque Gideon's GINN led the rest of the GINNs from the ___Re__iche_, racing ahead of the main body. Team 3 was composed of heavy weapons experts and thus was armed accordingly. Several heavy cannons and missiles were fired off, crippling or destroying several warships.

Basque roared as his GINN charged forward, firing its heavy cannon and Gatling guns while the rest of his team followed behind. Many of the docked vessels in the front of the hanger were quickly crippled or destroyed without having a chance to even lift off.

"Team 1, move out, now!" Diana ordered.

The mobile suits of the _Ardenne_ and the Le Creuset team raced into the massive hanger. They split up, searching for the legged ship and firing upon the mobile armors that were vainly trying to defend their base. They were all nothing more than minor annoyances that were trying to stop them from reaching their objective. Diana fired off a few rounds at one mobile armor, clipping it's engines and causing it to crash into the command center of the base, taking the base commander with it, no doubt.

She quickly and easily destroyed three more mobile armors with a hail of vulcan gun and machine gun fire. That was a problem that irritated her: it was too easy. True, the Earth Forces had numbers. But their mobile armors were vastly inferior compared to ZAFT's mobile suits. Truth be told, Diana was growing bored of the war. ZAFT's technology was just too superior. And without challenging opponents, how could she and her men improve if their opponents were all weak. When she learned that the Earth Forces were building mobile suits, she was actually quite happy. It would finally bring a balance to this war and actually challenge her.

It wasn't long before she, her brother, and his two teammates spotted the legged ship and it's mobile suits. The Blitz was also there, battling the Strike and the Raven. However, much to Diana's annoyance, there was no Moebius Zero, meaning no Mu La Flaga.

_"Time to end this!"_ Yzak said as he opened fire on the Strike.

Diana, Saul and Dearka all followed the Duel, firing on the two Earth Forces mobile suits. The Raven and the Strike dodged their shots, with the Raven returning fire with its arm mounted rail cannons at the Buster and Duel while the Strike threw its Midas Messer beam boomerang at Diana's 'Panther'. Diana effortlessly dodged the incoming weapon and its return, only to come face to face with the Strike, its anti-ship sword descending on her. But she wasn't some novice pilot - she was the command of the best space-combat unit in all of ZAFT. But, despite being a novice, Kira Yamato was not your average pilot, either. Diana barely managed to dodge the attack, losing her machine's left arm in the process.

_"Leave her alone!"_ Saul shouted, firing his Hakenfaust claw at the Strike.

The Strike pulled back, avoiding the claw. Diana took that momentary distraction to fire off a burst of rounds at the Strike, taking note that her bullets did nothing against the Phase Shift Armor of the machine.

_'Amazing. These mobile suits make even _our_ machines inferior.'_

_"You alright, sis?"_ Saul asked.

Diana was about to respond when she noticed the legged ship rotating a full 180 degrees and activating its main engines, heading towards the open rear hanger door. "I'm fine. Stop the legged ship!"

Before anyone could move, huge explosions started tearing through the hanger. The Raven and the Strike began retreating to the legged ship.

_"You're not getting away this time!"_ Yzak shouted, firing at the retreating mobile suits.

Unfortunately, at that very moment, a massive explosion tore through the hanger. Creating a fireball that separated the ZAFT mobile suits from the fleeing ship.

_'It seems Basque and his men were quicker that I thought they'd be...'_ Diana thought as the legged ship slipped from their grasp.

_"No!"_ Yzak shouted in rage and frustration.

"The base is coming apart," Diana said. "All forces, fall back. Fall back."

The ZAFT forces began fleeing the crumbling base. Indeed, they had destroyed the Artemis Base. But they had failed in their ultimate objective: the capture or destruction of the legged ship and its mobile suits. But as long as that ship was in space, Diana Kessel and the Alaric Team would hunt them. Nothing ever escaped their grasp for very long.

* * *

**Author's Note: And that's that. Honestly, there wasn't TOO much difference, save that little chat between Athrun and Leon, and some cleaning around the edges across the chapter. Ultimately, nothing significant changed, really.**

**Thanks once more to the aforementioned ****Akatsuki Leader13**** and ****Maileesaeya****, for lending me some of their intellectual property.**

**Hope you'll leave a review! Ja ne, minna!**

* * *

**Vanishing Gundam** Mecha Spec Page

_"For the Black Hawk!"_ - The Alaric Team's battlecry

**ZGMF-1017MX GINN High Maneuver Type Custom  
**Description:  
Throughout the course of the war, ZAFT creates several variants of its main mass production mobile suit, the ZGMF-1017 GINN. One such variant was the ZGMF-1017M GINN High Maneuver Type. The majority of these mobile suits were assigned to the Alaric Team, who took this design one step further with the ZGMF-1017MX GINN High Maneuver Type Custom. Outfitted with a personalized set of armaments and equipment, along with a custom paint job and code name, no two GINNs of the Alaric Team were said to be exactly alike. They were so heavily modified that it was impossible to return them to their default factory settings, with only their mechanics and pilots knowing what modifications have been made to each machine. Some of them are legal, and some aren't, which is why they choose to remain quite secretive in regards to the specifications. Only two of the original prototypes from before the war have survived: the machines belonging to Commander John Alaric and to Lisa DaCosta.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-1017MX  
**Code Name:** GINN High Maneuver Type Custom**  
Unit Type:** high-mobility mobile suit**  
Manufacturer:** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)**  
Operator(s):** ZAFT**  
First Deployment:** C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** overall height 21.13 meters**  
Weight:** max gross weight 80.41 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** unknown**  
Power Plant:** ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown**  
Design Features:** sensors, range unknown; lightwave pulse thrusters  
**Fixed Armaments:** Varies by pilot  
**Optional Hand Armaments:** Varies by pilot  
**Pilot:** Members of the Alaric Team

**Appearance:** The GINN High Maneuver Type Custom resembles the normal GINN High Maneuver Type, save that all the GINN HM Type Customs possess crimson monoeyes instead of the normal pink.

**Colors:** Varies by pilot

**Notes:** No need for lengthy explanations. It's still the same basic Alaric Team suit that Akatsuki Leader13 used in his own fic.

_"Never falter! Never waver! Never surrender!"_ - Diana Kessel's personal motto

**ZGMF-515 CGUE (Kessel Custom)  
**Description:  
ZAFT's ZGMF-515 CGUE is an improved version of their standard ZGMF-1017 GINN and is designed for use by commanders and ace pilots such as Rau Le Creuset. Diana Kessel pilots a customized version of the CGUE, outfitted as it is with the same lightwave pulse thrusters that the other pilots of the Alaric Team employ. It is fast, mobile, and robust, making for a well-rounded fighting machine. It was assigned to Diana after her original mobile suit, a GINN High Maneuver Type Custom, was shot down at Endymion by famed Earth Alliance ace pilot Mu La Flaga, who would later become known as the "Hawk of Endymion".

**Model Number:** ZGMF-515  
**Code Name:** CGUE (Kessel Custom)  
**Unit Type:** customized commander type mobile suit**  
Manufacturer:** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)**  
Operator(s):** ZAFT**  
First Deployment:** C.E. 70**  
Accommodation:** pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** overall height 21.43 meters**  
Weight:** max gross weight 80.22 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** unknown**  
Power Plant:** ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown**  
Design Features:** sensors, range unknown; lightwave pulse thrusters  
**Fixed Armaments:** MA-M4A heavy sword, stored on back, hand-carried in use; M7070 shield-plus-vulcan system, mounted on left arm  
**Optional Hand Armaments:** MMI-M7S heavy assault machine gun, other armaments may vary  
**Pilot:** Diana Kessel

**Appearance:** Diana's custom CGUE has the same basic appearance as the basic CGUE.

**Colors:** Dark purple body, with white trim. Black strips on the forearms and shins, and the head of a roaring white panther emblazoned on the machine's left shoulder

**Notes:** Again, no need for lengthy explanations. It's still essentially the same suit that Diana piloted in the original version.


	6. Phase 6: Respective Solitudes

**I suppose you'll only see me updating this fast because I'm doing what I can to get to the part where I branch off, not just in comparison to canon, but also in comparison to **_**A Retelling**_** and **_**Seed Dauntless**_**. That, and I've put it off for an unforgivable amount of time.**

**For now, enjoy, I suppose.**

**Disclaimer: I'll only put up an actual disclaimer when something new comes along. For now, refer to the previous ones.**

* * *

Phase Six: Respective Solitudes

January 26 C.E. 71

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Hangar

Chris let out a long sigh of relief as he went through the Raven's power-down sequence. Fighting skilled opponents in the tight confines of the dock had been hard enough, but having to do so while said dock was collapsing all around you was pure insanity. Chris' hand unconsciously went up to the dog tags he wore underneath his uniform. They had been _extremely_ lucky that time.

He glanced at Flay, and was none too surprised to see her in a slight daze, her face pale. Chris honestly couldn't blame her. He thought back to when he first piloted the Raven, and he thought he could feel just what she was going through. He remembered how he felt: scared, anxious, but, at the same time, exhilarated. But, the feeling had gone, becoming nothing more than a memory, perhaps.

_'Have I really gotten used to the concept of fighting that quickly?'_

"Are you all right... Flay...?" he asked.

Flay blinked a few times as she regained her bearings. "Huh? Oh, sorry... I-I'll be fine..." she replied shakily.

"That's good to hear. Sai would probably try to kill me if something happened to you."

"Is that what a battle is like?" Flay suddenly asked, her voice quiet.

Chris paused for a moment, unsure of how to reply to the sudden question. "From what I've experienced, yes, you could say that."

"How can you just go into battle like that? How can anyone simply go into battle like it's the most natural thing on Earth?"

"I don't know... I'm not really waging war. I'm just trying to protect the few important people I have left," Chris replied. "That's all I ever wanted. It's the only reason I actually decided to continue piloting the Raven."

"The few important people you have left?"

Chris closed his eyes for a moment. "That's something I do not wish to talk about. So please, respect my privacy."

Chris opened up the cockpit hatch and stepped out, turning to see Kira emerging from the Strike.

"Hey, kids!" Mu shouted from hanger floor. "That was some impressive fighting back there! Nice work!"

Chris smiled. "Thanks!" he shouted back.

At that moment, Flay poked her head out from the hatch.

"Miss Allster?" a very surprised Mu shouted. "What were you doing in the cockpit of the Raven?"

"It's a long story!" Chris shouted back.

He turned to Flay. "Do you need a hand getting down?"

"Ah... Yeah... Please."

Chris wrapped an arm around Flay and then pushed off the edge of the cockpit hatch, sending them floating down to the hangar deck. When they gently hit the ground, Chris released his grip on Flay. "There. You better go find Sai. I imagine he's very worried about you right now."

"Thank you," Flay said before hurriedly leaving the hangar.

"So, is she your girlfriend?" Mu asked, a sloppy grin on his face.

"What?" Chris shouted indignantly. He felt his face heat up with a blush, which he hoped was from embarrassment. "No, Flay isn't my girlfriend. She's arranged to marry Sai. And I'm not the kind of person that breaks a couple up like that for his own selfish reasons."

"Well, I suppose so," Mu admitted. "Anyway, I'm impressed that you managed to hold your own against members of ZAFT's Alaric Team."

"The Alaric Team...? I've... never heard of them, to be honest," Kira said.

"Same here," Chris said.

"You can't be serious!" Mu said, surprised by their reaction. "The Alaric Team is that team of elite aces that ZAFT propaganda is always talking about and showing off. And, trust me on this... ZAFT has an incredibly good reason to do so. They're the most dominant space-combat force around, and they've been a real nightmare for us."

"Really?" Kira asked. "They must be very strong."

"That they are. They've beaten the Earth Forces numerous times with no problems. I've fought them several times before and I've only managed to shoot down one of them. I did manage to fight their original commander to a draw, though."

_

* * *

_

_Flashback_

_Battle of Endymion Crater_

_May 28 C.E. 70_

_Mu cursed as he pulled his Moebius Zero into a sharp left turn, dodging a burst of rounds from a black and white GINN._

"_Of all the pilots I could have encountered, I had to come face-to-face with the Black Hawk himself..." he said, dodging more rounds._

_Mu knew he was in serious trouble. Even though he had managed to shoot down five GINNs earlier in the battle, with one of them being a dark purple GINN belonging to the Alaric Team, two of his gunbarrels had been taken out. To make matters worse, his remaining weapons were running low on ammo. As if it wasn't bad enough, his Zero was definitely slower than the GINN. It was painfully clear to Mu that the Hawk was simply playing with him. He could catch up with him in an instant and finish him off. There was no way Mu could outrun him._

_'Wait a sec... Maybe I don't need to outrun him...' he thought. 'This is crazy, but it might just work.'_

_Mu suddenly cut his speed, stopping dead in space. His sudden stop caught the Black Hawk off guard, causing the GINN to veer up and over the Zero rather than stopping, leaving him right in the middle of Mu's sights. Mu deployed his gunbarrels and fired several rounds before an alarm sounded in his cockpit. His displays showed he was out of ammo, and the Black Hawk's GINN had barely managed to evade the few rounds Mu had gotten off._

_The GINN spun around and squeezed the trigger of its rifle, but nothing happened. The GINN stood there for a moment, seemingly contemplating what to do. They were both out of ammo, but Mu was still in danger. His Zero was defenseless while the GINN still had its sword._

_To Mu's surprise, the GINN's left arm reached up to its head crest in a salute before taking off. Mu was utterly baffled, but incredibly relieved at his apparent good fortune._

* * *

Present time

"I don't know, Lieutenant," Kira said. "The story makes it sound like the Black Hawk _let_ you live, maybe so he could face you in battle again someday."

Chris nodded. "I'd... have to agree with Kira. It certainly doesn't sound like much of a draw, since he still had weapons and you didn't."

"Hey!"

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Hangar

January 27 C.E. 71

"Excuse me... Captain Ramius?" Flay said uncertainly. Murrue, Johanna, Mu, Kira, and Murdoch, who had been discussing the work on the Guardian, turned to look at her.

"Yes? Is there something you need?" Murrue replied.

"W-well…" Flay said, still uncertain. "I… After the last battle… what I mean to say is... After that experience, I realize how much danger we're all in... and I want to help out. Please, tell me if there is anything I can do to help out on this ship."

Kira nodded, none too surprised. After the last battle, he had talked with Chris, and had expected something of the sort. True, the battle had scared Flay, but it had also made her realize the desperate circumstances they now faced on the ship.

Murrue looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. "Actually, that would work out quite well, Miss Alster," she said. Flay looked at them questioningly.

"Liz has been working in the communications station of the CIC," Johanna replied. "But she'll be assigned to something else in the near future, so you'd be a good replacement."

Murrue nodded again. "Just give us a few minutes to sort this out and we'll talk about it some more, okay?"

Flay smiled slightly. "Okay," she said. "Thank you, Captain."

After Flay had left, Murrue turned back to the group. "It'll only be a couple of days until the Guardian is complete... though our problem is still finding a pilot," she said. "Is there anyone here who can pilot the Guardian, even with a Coordinator-use OS of Kira's design?"

"There is one," Johanna said. Kira nodded in response.

"Why don't we ask Liz to do it?" Kira suggested. Murrue looked thoughtful for a moment, and was about to reply, but someone had beaten the captain to the punch.

"Ask me to do what?" came the voice of Liz as she walked up to the group, a curious expression on her face.

"Well..." Mu said, trying to find a way to make it less of a shock. "We want you to... uh..."

Kira sighed. "What Lt. La Flaga wants to say is... we were wondering if you would want to become the pilot for the Guardian. It's been sitting in the hangar collecting dust, but with the help of Mrs. Dante and Chief Murdoch, the Guardian will be ready to fly in about two days."

Liz smiled brightly. She'd hoped they would approach her for it. She hated simply watching Kira and her idiot brother taking all the risks.

"Actually, I wanted to volunteer to pilot the Guardian, Kira. Let me fly it, please!" she said.

Mu grinned. "All right, that settles it then," he said, earning grins all around from the rest of the team that were putting every effort into getting the mobile suit up and running.

"If you want to, I've equipped the cockpit with a simulation program that can help you get used to it," Kira said. "It'll also simulate how the mobile suit's actual performance will be like, so we'll know if something's wrong."

"Just make sure Chris doesn't hear about it, or he'll go ballistic," Liz replied, getting a good dose of laughter out of the group.

* * *

Shuttle to Aprilius One

The hatch to the passenger compartment slid open before Rau Le Creuset, Athrun Zala, and Leon Vanyel, revealing only three people in the otherwise empty shuttle. The two Redcoats instantly recognized Patrick Zala, Athrun's father, but the two young men with him were complete unknowns to both Athrun and Leon.

The three elite pilots of the Le Creuset team saluted Patrick as they entered the shuttle, the door closing just as quietly behind them.

"National Defense Chairman Zala, we hope you will permit us to accompany you," Rau said politely.

The two seated Redcoats returned the salute with military precision, while Patrick simply waved it off. "There's no need for formalities, Le Creuset."

Athrun glanced at the young man seated a couple of rows behind his father. His features revealed him to be of Athrun's age group, with cold gray eyes and unkempt black hair cut long, much longer than what normal military regulations would allow. His disposition gave off the essence of someone who was bored with life.

"Ah, Zane... I trust your assignment was a success?" Rau asked as he took his seat across the aisle from Patrick.

"Ye, sir. Everything has been taken care of," the one Le Creuset had addressed as Zane replied.

"Excellent," Rau said with a grin. "Athrun, Leon, I don't believe you've met my protégé yet. Athrun Zala, Leon Vanyel, this is Zane Scirocco. He'll be joining us once the _Vesalius_ is repaired and the matter of Heliopolis' destruction is cleared up with the Council."

"Hello," Athrun and Zane greeted each other politely as they shook hands. Leon remained silent, but still took Zane's offered hand out of courtesy.

Rau then nodded towards the other, equally silent, Redcoat that had been waiting in the cockpit. His lavender eyes possessed a look that indicated a viciously sharp mind behind them, and well-kept dark blue hair framed a face that, had it not been set in an emotionless mask, would have given him the look and bearing of an aristocrat.

"And this is one of my previous students, and currently Zane's senior, Falkner Grey," Rau continued. "He graduated from the academy a year or two before your batch did. He commanded a mobile suit team on the front lines for a time, with Zane here as one of its members, but he'll be assigned to us as well once we leave dock."

"It's a pleasure," Falkner said smoothly, shaking Athrun's proffered hand.

"Good to meet you..." Leon replied, giving a nod of respect, which the other man returned.

"You never saw me on this shuttle. Am I clear, Athrun?"

"Yes, I understand. It's been a while, Father," he answered, taking his seat behind Commander Le Creuset as Leon took a seat across his.

"Needless to say, I agree with your opinion on the report. The problem is the fact that they've developed such advanced mobile suits. We'll forget all about the pilots. I went ahead and deleted that from the report."

Athrun stared at his father in surprise. Concealing such important information from the Council like that was treasonous, at the very least. Leon simply narrowed his eyes, almost as if he had expected something like this to happen.

To Athrun's further surprise, Le Creuset agreed. "Thank you very much, sir. I was confident that you would make that decision."

"Just think of the uproar it would cause if they found out that those machines were being piloted by Coordinators. It would only give the moderate faction something unnecessary to argue about."

"Wouldn't you also find it difficult to have your friend be referred to as someone who has sided to the Earth Forces, due to the report?" Le Creuset asked.

"No, but…"

"The Naturals created a mobile suit that can perform that well even with a Natural piloting it," his father said. "That's what we'll be reporting. Understand?"

"Yes…"

"We must be more serious about this. Rau, I should be able to get you command of the task force that will be hunting the legged ship. It will consist of the _Vesalius_, the _Gamow_ and the Alaric Team," Zala said.

Le Creuset smirked. "Commander Kessel won't like that."

"No, they won't," Patrick replied. "But they will just have to deal with it."

"It doesn't matter in the end. We will deal with the ship and those mobile suits," Zane said. "All traitors deserve only one thing: death."

* * *

PLANT Supreme Council

Aprilius One

Thirty Minutes Later

"I believe you can understand from the course of events you just saw that our actions were not intended as an attack on Heliopolis itself but the result of collateral damage and that the Earth Forces were at fault for the collapse. That concludes my report. Thank you for your attention," Rau concluded, saluting the Supreme Council before taking his seat again.

"So, Orb was working with the Earth Forces all along!" said Orson White, the chairman of the Administrative Committee. "They're the ones who violated the treaty."

"Aren't you being a little premature?" Ian Kessel, the Legislative Committee Chairman, asked. "Orb is more than able to design and build mobile suits and warships."

"But they are not allowed to design and build mobile suits with the Earth Forces," said Ezalia Joule, a major supporter of Zala, and a member of the National Defense Committee.

"Ah… But Orb didn't design those machines. Morgenroete did," said Ian. "And last time I checked, Morgenroete was a company, not a country. As such, they could do what they please."

"But Morgenroete is a corporation of Orb," argued Ezalia.

"Yes. But Morgenroete is an independent company and is not the Orb government. And we have a treaty with the Orb government, not Morgenroete."

"This only further illustrates that those living on Earth cannot be trusted," said Herman Gould.

"Trusted? How arrogant is it to believe that we are the only trustworthy ones?" said Kessel.

"However, Commander Le Creuset, are these prototype mobile suits worth all of the sacrifices that have been made by our forces?" asked Patrick Zala, interrupting their argument.

Rau Le Creuset stood up again. "To explain the new mobile suits and their capabilities to you, I have two of our pilots with me, who have not only piloted two of the new machines, but fought against two of the machines that have remained with the enemy: Athrun Zala and Leon Vanyel. They will present to you the report on these new mobile suits... with your permission of course."

Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne looked among the council members, receiving discreet nods, before he himself nodded.

"I will allow Athrun Zala and Leon Vanyel to present their report."

Athrun and Leon stood and gave a crisp military salute before approaching the council's table. Leon took a pocket hard drive out and inserted it into the slot, his fingers flying across the keyboard before him. In an instant, the display screen sprung to life, showing the first of the new machines, the Aegis.

"If you would all please direct your attention to the display..." Athrun started. "First off, I would like to present this machine, the GAT-X303 Aegis. One major characteristic of this machine is its transformation system. Its structural frame is fundamentally different from at least six of the other models. The frame is built to allow the machine to transform into a mobile armor. While in this configuration, its main weapon is the Scylla, a five hundred eighty millimeter multi-phase beam cannon. As with the other machines, it incorporates a system known as Phase Shift Armor, which we have yet to properly test in actual combat. At present, we are reprogramming the OS to maximize its potential, and judging from its specs, we believe this machine is superior in both mobility and power to ZAFT's main weapon, the GINN."

Leon hit a key, and the Aegis was replaced by the Duel, one of its beam sabers drawn.

"This is the GAT-X102 Duel. This machine was developed with close-range combat in mind and has a wide range of uses. It's believed to the basis of the development of the other eight models. Like the others, it is equipped with the Igelstellung CIWS vulcan guns. The machine also carries a beam saber and an anti-beam shield."

The displays now shifted, showing the Buster as it combined its high-energy rifle and gun-launcher into its hyper impulse sniper rifle configuration and fired.

"This machine is the GAT-X103 Buster. This machine was designed to be capable of delivering long-range artillery attacks. It is believed that its main purpose was to provide covering fire from the rear, and to perform sniper attacks. It is not equipped with a shield; however, it has a three hundred and fifty millimeter gun-launcher, and a ninety-four millimeter high-energy rifle. By attaching these weapons in different combinations, one can form a hyper impulse long-range sniper rifle, or an anti-armor shotgun."

Leon pressed another key, and the Blitz appeared. It raised its arm and fired off its lancer darts.

"This is the GAT-X207 Blitz. This one has a feature called Mirage Colloid, whereby gas particles are released over the armor's surface. In the eyes of the enemy, this machine becomes virtually invisible. This makes it effective for search-and-destroy missions; however, one of the drawbacks is that the Phase Shift Armor cannot be used while the system is activated. It's believed that this model was developed for blitzkrieg warfare. It is also equipped with its own weapons, the Trikeros and Gleipnir."

The images on the screens shifted to images of the Surge racing into battle.

"Next is the GAT-X204 Surge. This machine is the fastest of all the mobile suits from Heliopolis. In fact, its maximum speed is faster than any of the current ZAFT mobile suits. The drawback however, is that repeated uses of its high-speed capabilities rapidly drain its battery. We believe that it was designed specifically as a counter to the high-speed mobile suits of the Alaric Team. Its primary weapons are a 55mm beam rifle, a pair of anti-armor swords and the Hakenfaust triple claw weapon."

The screens switched again, now displaying the Sentinel as it danced around incoming fire from the Raven before it lashed out with one of its Ouroboros claws.

"This is the final machine we were able to acquire: the GAT-X209 Sentinel. We believe this machine was built to complement the Surge's high-speed tactics, armed as it is with a plethora of melee weapons. Its main weapons are its Ouroboros composite claws. The claws themselves are able to penetrate shields and Phase Shift Armor, and each claw also mounts a beam blade, which is by far the most powerful melee weapon in use. In addition, two short-range plasma cannons are mounted for use when a target has been caught in the claws' grasp. It also carries a 60mm beam rifle, and two short beam glaives that can be combined into a double beam glaive. Its high-speed and maneuverability make it a formidable weapon in melee range."

The screens shifted again, now displaying the Raven as it fired shots from the twin barrels of its railgun.

"Now, the three that got away. First of these is the GAT-X302 Raven. Like the Aegis, this machine is able to transform into a fighter-like mobile armor. Its mobile armor form also appears to be able to double as a flight platform for other machines. Its primary weapon is the dual 52mm hyper velocity railgun with a shield attachment. Its main weapons in its mobile armor mode are a pair of 76mm machineguns and the beam blades mounted in the claws of the mobile armor. We suspect this machine was designed primarily for atmospheric and space combat."

The screens again changed, now showing a mobile suit lying on the ground of Heliopolis.

"This is the only unknown, seeing as we were not aware of its existence until the actual day of the operation. Given what we saw here, and the fact that it hasn't been deployed in combat yet, we believe it still incomplete at present. As such, we know nothing of its capabilities, but from the images we have of it, we believe it to be armed with dual grenade launchers in the forearms, as well as a pair of beam sabers. We will not know anything else until it is captured by us, or completed and deployed by the Earth Forces."

The screens changed to the final new machine, the Strike, launching from the legged ship in its Aile Striker configuration.

"Finally, the GAT-X105 Strike. Judging from our encounters with it, we know it to be a machine capable of various types of combat. This model's design allows for it to bolster its base armaments with modules we have identified as Launcher, Sword, Lightning, and Aile. We can determine from the image that the Launcher holds a three hundred and twenty millimeter hyper impulse cannon. Our assumption is also that it has a one hundred and twenty millimeter anti-ship vulcan cannon, as well as two three hundred and fifty millimeter gun-launchers. The Sword module equips it with a fifteen-meter long anti-ship sword, along with a beam boomerang and a rocket anchor. The Lightning module equips it with a powerful weapon that we believe to be an electromagnetic cannon, with power far in excess of the main guns of a battleship. In addition, the machine itself carries two knives in its hip section. It's likely this model has extremely high combat potential."

"That is all," Athrun concluded, saluting before returning to his seat.

Leon typed in a few commands before shutting down the displays. "Copies of the data on these mobile suits have already been archived in ZAFT's database," he said. "Should you ever feel the need to look at their specifications, they are there for your convenience. Thank you for your kind attention."

He, too, saluted before returning to his seat.

"They've actually manufactured these abominations!" said Jeremy Maxwell, the disgust evident in his voice. "Those disgusting Naturals!"

"But they're only in the trial stages. You can hardly consider ten mobile suits a threat," Eileen Canaver said.

"But if they've come this far, the next step would be to mass-produce," Ezalia Joule argued.

Ian Kessel started to laugh, causing everyone to stare at him. "I'm sorry. But this is just so ridiculous," he said. "You call those mobile suits abominations, but the Earth Forces are simply doing what must be done in war. If your enemy builds a superior weapon, then you must simply create a better weapon to counter that one. Frankly, I'm surprised that it took them this long to create their own mobile suits. Besides, what do you think the Earth Forces thought of us when they saw our mobile suits?"

"How can you say that?" asked Gould. "This is a clear indication of the Naturals intentions. They crave war, a desire for violence and havoc."

Kessel laughed again. "Few people, whether Natural or Coordinator, ever truly crave war. Next, you're going to say that all Coordinators care only about peace and all Naturals are Blue Cosmos members," he said. "Your thinking is just like that of members of Blue Cosmos: narrow-minded and bigoted."

His comment sparked a massive shouting contest among many of the Council members, while Siegel Clyne vainly tried to reestablish a sense of order in the Council. Suddenly, Patrick Zala's voice rose above the chaos.

"There is no one who prefers to fight!"

"Chairman Zala..." Siegel said.

"Who among us actually wants to head out to a battlefield? We want to live peacefully, gracefully, and happily. That has always been our only wish!" Zala stood up, his voice becoming louder. "But who so ruthlessly shattered that wish? Who took our freedom away for their own selfish ambitions? Who pushes us aside to better themselves? Who exploits the Coordinators for their own selfish desires and personal gain?"

"Who will never let us forget the Bloody Valentine Tragedy? The nightmarish destruction of Junius Seven! Two hundred forty-three thousand seven hundred and twenty-one Coordinators died on that horrific day. It has been one year since that abominable incident claimed so many of our fellow citizens. Yet we've pondered endlessly to try to end this war quickly. Our demands have been minor. However, the Naturals have put our efforts to waste, time and time again!"

"We fight because it's the only way to protect ourselves. If we must fight to protect ourselves, then we have no choice but to fight!" Patrick Zala proclaimed, bringing his speech to an end.

"Father..." Athrun whispered. He was too stunned to noticed Rau's smirk.

Leon, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes. _'If this is any evidence, the day Patrick Zala becomes Supreme Council Chairman... is the day the world will descend into never-ending bloodshed, sorrow, and tears...'_ he thought. _'One way or another, Master Siegel _must_ remain as Chairman if we want to end this conflict with a minimum amount of bloodshed.'_

The entire Council was silent. None could argue with a speech such as that. But, two men still had the steel to stand up to Zala's proclamation.

"As always, you have a flair for the dramatic, Zala. But using the victims of Junius Seven as rallying cry for war is despicable and an insult to their memory," Ian said with a mock applause.

Zala's face could barely conceal his rage. "How dare you say such a thing!" said Zala, barely stopping himself from yelling. "My wife was killed at Junius Seven!"

"That is precisely what Chairman Kessel wants to point out. You should not allow your emotions to get the better of you, Chairman Zala..." Siegel spoke. "Leaders must always make decisions with a clear mind, and they must always be working towards a resolution that will benefit all parties. They must be willing to heed any call for peace and even if there is only a slight chance for success, they must be willing to take it."

"My fellow Council members, as you know, Legislative Committee Chairman Kessel comes from a long line of soldiers," Siegel continued. "He served in ZAFT's military before becoming a member of this Council. His wife and his children are all fighting this war. He and his family definitely know how wars should be fought. We must fight this war with calm and rational minds. We must not let ourselves be consumed by hatred and vengeance. We must be fighting for a peaceful coexistence with the Naturals and with the nations of the Earth. Simply seeking retribution and vengeance will only lead to more death, more pain and suffering, and more hatred."

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind," Ian Kessel added. "Chairman Clyne and I have spoken with each other about this, and we urge you - all of you - not to let this war become personal. This war cannot end the way it started. If it does, then nothing changes and we will simply be left with a continuous cycle of hatred and death. It is our responsibility to ensure that our children, their children and all the children yet to be do not suffer from our mistakes."

* * *

A few minutes later

Athrun and Leon waited patiently, watching the council members filing out of the meeting hall and going about their respective businesses, all the while completely ignoring the two red coats. However, one man in particular walked up to them, a smile on his face.

"Hey there, Athrun, Leon. It's been quite some time," Siegel Clyne said as he approached.

Both teens saluted. "It's been a while, honorable Chairman..." Athrun said.

"Chairman Clyne, it's an honor to see you again," Leon greeted.

"It's such a shame, Athrun..." Siegel said. "You're finally back from the front lines, and now my daughter Lacus is away working."

Athrun nodded. "She sent me mail, saying she was going to visit Junius Seven with her memorial service troop."

Siegel smiled slightly. "Engaged to be married, and yet..." he said."You never seem to get the chance to see each other." The Supreme Council Chairman turned to Leon. "And, Leon... allow me to give you my sympathies... as well as my best wishes."

"For what, Chairman?" the golden-brown-haired pilot asked, trying to feign ignorance.

"Don't play the fool with me, Mr. Vanyel. I've known you pretty much as long as I've known Athrun," he said.

Leon internally swore. He had hoped that the Chairman might have forgotten it, but that apparently wasn't to be the case.

"I wouldn't forget what toda-"

"Chairman Clyne!" a ZAFT fleet officer called out as he saluted. Leon thanked whatever god was out there listening to him for what the officer had to report... or would have, because the man's next words stopped him, Athrun, and Siegel cold.

"It's been reported that the memorial service ship has disappeared in the vicinity of the Debris Belt..."

* * *

National Defense Chairman's Office

"Damn that man!" Patrick Zala cursed. "That stubborn fool just can't see what needs to be done! He'll ruin everything! There has to be a way to remove him!"

Rau quietly sighed as Zala continued to rant and rave about one of his biggest political opponents. Ian Kessel was proving to be a difficult opponent, indeed. Though the man was for fighting the war, he was against Patrick Zala's more radical views. In addition, he sought to end the war peacefully, unlike Zala—and Rau himself, of course.

"Perhaps, but unfortunately, Chairman Kessel has a great pull with the military," said Rau. "He has the support of a number of our armed forces and his wife is one of ZAFT's top officials. Plus, his daughter is commander of one of our best units. Any direct action taken against him at the moment could be disastrous to our cause."

"We wouldn't be in this mess if your assassin had done his job properly, Le Creuset!" Zala yelled back. "If he'd taken out Alaric like he was supposed to, we would have had that unit under our control and discredited Kessel, all in one fell swoop!"

"At the very least, we managed to remove John Alaric," Rau said calmly in his defense. "That is already enough to help our plans out, nevermind Miss Kessel."

John Alaric had been a major problem for them. On one hand, he and his team had become the icons of ZAFT's military might. But, unfortunately, he was strongly opposed to Patrick Zala and his radical faction. Worse yet, from the early days of the war, he had been extremely suspicious of both Zala and Le Creuset. Alaric had been very close to uncovering things that they had both sought to keep buried. Fortunately, they had a mole within the Alaric Team who had informed them of all of this.

The three of them had created a detailed plan for eliminating Alaric and then framing Diana Kessel as his killer and as an Earth Forces spy, allowing a more supportive commander to take over the Alaric Team. It would have also tainted the reputation of the Kessel family, branding them with the suspicion of treachery and would have greatly weakened their support.

Unfortunately, by pure chance, Diana Kessel discovered the assassin in the act of trying to kill Alaric and killed him, but not before the assassin had dealt Alaric a fatal wound. Fortunately, she'd killed the assassin before he could name them as his superior officers. Naturally, with nothing else to go on, he was labeled an Earth Forces spy, but that in turn left Diana Kessel as the new commander of the Alaric Team.

Though Diana disliked, and, more importantly, distrusted both Patrick Zala and Rau Le Creuset, she didn't seem to be actively pursuing the investigation her old mentor had started. Or, at very least, didn't have anything she could use at the moment. It was fortunate, as Diana was a wild card that could possibly disrupt their plans. Any disruptions this late in the game could jeopardize everything Rau had worked for.

The masked man smirked. _'Perhaps I should try and see if I could get the legged ship and its mobile suits to deal with them...'_

* * *

Debris Belt

February 2 C.E. 71

Chris sighed as the Raven flew through all the debris and garbage that made up the aptly-named Debris Belt. He, Kira, and Liz had split up and were searching the area for supplies they desperately needed. Once they found something, they would call the _Archangel_ and they would send out teams to retrieve the supplies. But at the moment, they hadn't found much of anything.

_"Hey Chris, have you found anything yet?"_ Flay asked over the comm. Now that Liz was, to his useless complaints, officially the Guardian's pilot, Flay was now regularly manning the communications station.

"Nah... There's nothing here, really..." he replied as he maneuvered under some debris. "This is starting to look like a-"

Chris froze the second he maneuvered around the debris. What he saw in front of him was almost too horrendous to be real.

_'No...It can't be...'_

"_Chris? What is it? Chris? Brother, are you there? What do you see?"_ he heard Liz frantically ask. _"Chris, are you there? Please! Answer me! Chris!"_

Chris was frozen, his thoughts entirely on what was in front of him. But, somehow, he managed to find the willpower to move his mouth. Whether he was still capable of speech was another question altogether..

"Home..." Chris replied, his voice quiet and faint. "Liz... it's... home..."

Liz's face instantly became pale. The Guardian stopped moving, Liz suddenly feeling the same way her brother did.

_"What is he talking about?"_ Captain Ramius asked. _"What has he found?"_

_"Could it be...?"_ Mu asked from the second helm station.

Kira swallowed audibly, trying to get rid of the lump in his throat. _"It's... the largest cemetery you'll ever find... The biggest memorial ever created throughout mankind's history..."_ he said.

_"Our home before the war started... Junius Seven..."_ Liz whispered.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note: And that's that. The **_**Archangel**_** has arrived at Junius Seven. It really still is similar, I know. But it will change eventually. I just ask for your patience, and that you keep reading.**

**I altered some parts, most especially the Council scene. Apparently, people thought Ian was too all-knowing. So I cut down on his lines. Siegel didn't become Supreme Council Chairman just because he had a cute pink-haired daughter that traveled with a bunch of Haros and sang J-pop, after all. Or, at least, I hope not.**

**Apparently, Siegel knows something about Leon. What their connection is will be revealed in due time, as will Leon Vanyel's history. But I've left a couple of subtle hints in the past chapters as to what he is. Points to whoever figures it out.**

**Yeah, Zane's back. He'll be... altered from the Zane that appeared in **_**A Retelling**_**, that much is for sure. So don't get on my back just yet. Stories should be given the chance to build up.**

**Also, I've introduced a new character, Falkner Grey. What his role will be in the future will be revealed... in the future (teh-duh).**

**Anyways, leave a review, please! Ja ne, minna! ^_^**


	7. Phase 7: The Scar of Space

**First off, I apologize, because there truly isn't too much difference. Hopefully I can make rewrites instead of simply editing, but there are times when rewriting it is virtually impossible. It's much easier to read than it is to write, after all. Unless you're blind. And you wouldn't be reading this if you were blind.**

**But I digress. On with it.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except Leon Vanyel, his GAT-X209 Sentinel Gundam, and the new OC who appeared in the last chapter, Falkner Grey.**

* * *

Phase Seven: The Scar of Space

February 2 C.E. 71

The _Archangel_'s Mess Hall

"You can't be serious, Lieutenant La Flaga!" Kira shouted. "You saw it yourself, didn't you? So many people died on Junius Seven, and you simply expect us to get our supplies from _there_?" he continued, pointing at the display, a picture of the destroyed PLANT on it.

"No one's suggesting that we're going to act like grave robbers!" Murrue replied. "We'll only take what's necessary... Just some water and parts for repairs..."

A slight murmur rose through the bridge crew present in the makeshift meeting room.

"Water..." Sai murmured. "In that case... we really have no choice..."

"That's just a rationalization!" Kira replied. Regardless of the situation, he felt that he was somehow defiling the memories of those who died by simply taking what they had once owned. "Is this how the Earth Forces conducts itself?"

"Kid!" Mu reprimanded sternly. "Right now, we're alive! And to stay alive, there are times you may have to do things that aren't very pretty."

He looked at the viewscreen. "Or perhaps you'd rather keep your hands clean..." he added. "And end up like that, instead?"

Kira turned to the screen. Haunting, nightmarish images crossed his mind, and he slumped in defeat.

"So, what do you two think?" Mu asked, turning to Chris and Liz.

"Us?" Liz replied.

"Yeah. I mean, you yourselves said it. You lived here before," the blonde lieutenant said. "It wouldn't be right if we didn't at least hear your thoughts."

"Well... I honestly agree with Kira... it just doesn't seem right..." Chris said. "But I also agree with you, Lieutenant. If we're alive, we should do whatever we can to stay alive. As long as what we're taking is only what is necessary, then I can probably stomach the thought."

"Our parents, and our friends..." Liz added. "They would want us to keep living."

* * *

One hour later

Chris tiredly collapsed onto his bed, only putting enough effort to roll onto his side and avoid dying due to lack of oxygen. No matter how he looked at himself, he couldn't deny it: he was exhausted - physically, mentally, and emotionally. He just didn't seem to have the energy to help out. Preparations were still being made for the resupply operation, and with the Raven ready to go there wouldn't be a whole lot to do, while Mir, Flay, and some of the children were busy making origami flowers as a sort of offering to the deceased.

Just as he was about to finally drift off to unconsciousness, a knock came at the door. Great. Just what he needed.

Sighing, Chris called out, "It's open, come on in!"

His door slid open, revealing Flay. Chris blinked in surprise. Now, _this_, he had not expected.

Shaking his surprise off, Chris offered up a tired smile that he hoped seemed welcoming. "What's wrong, Flay? Something happen?"

Flay shook her head. "I..." she started uncertainly. She smiled slightly when Chris motioned for her to continue. "I... just felt that I should extend my... sympathies... for what happened to Junius Seven."

Chris sighed heavily. "Don't... I've had enough apologies coming from people because of this," he said. "I can't stand it anymore, having people pity me when they learn that I'm from Junius Seven."

Flay hesitated again, and Chris briefly wondered if she was trying to decide whether she should stay or not. "Is there... something else?" he asked.

"Um... there is, actually... there's something I really need to let out," she said.

Chris nodded. "Well, knock yourself out. The sooner you start, the sooner you can let it all out."

Flay closed her eyes and took a deep breath, releasing some of her nervousness. "You see, Chris... my father is a high-ranking official in Blue Cosmos... and, being the naive girl I was, I swallowed everything he told me about Coordinators. I thought all Coordinators were bad and evil... while all Naturals were good... I thought so even after the Bloody Valentine, because it never affected me. The same thing went for the war. I never paid it any mind. It all seemed... so far away, especially since I was living in a civilian colony. But that all changed when Heliopolis was attacked. At first, I thought my beliefs were reaffirmed... but because of what's happened after that... meeting you, Kira, Liz... and listening to that horrible commander Garcia... I realized that everything I was raised to believe was wrong. Everything was all just a lie. And, because of that... I want to apologize, Chris, for every instance when I cursed Coordinators for what they are... I was wrong, and I see it now."

She bowed her head at this point, surprising Chris even further. His mouth moved, but his capability for speech evaded him.

_'Damn... she's matured a couple of years... admitting that you were wrong, and apologizing for your mistakes... is never easy to do...'_

Chris laid a hand on Flay's shoulder. "Hey, listen..." he said. "Chin up, Flay. I accept your apology. To be honest, I wasn't very different in the past. I used to think about Naturals much in the same way you thought of Coordinators... but that changed when I was walking home from school one day, around seven years ago. I saw a boy around my age getting beaten on by a trio of punks, all because he had said that Naturals and Coordinators weren't too different. And, watching those bullies, I knew he was right. Coordinators could be just as bad as Blue Cosmos members. So, I fought those punks off, and the boy and I quickly became best friends after."

Chris mentally wondered what was compelling him to do this. This story wasn't something he often told others. He simply gave a mental shrug and continued.

"He was a really nice guy. He always believed that everyone could learn to live together... in peace. He said that everyone was the same inside," Chris said, memories from before the Bloody Valentine flashing through his mind. "Heh... funny. Now that I think about it, he and Kira aren't very different. He hated violence, and completely supported pacifism. Back when we met, he was more worried for my own well-being than about himself."

"Is he... dead?" Flay asked.

"Yes, he is..." Chris replied, his voice just a bit above being a whisper. "He was killed during the Bloody Valentine... and not a single day goes by without me wishing everyone who died were still alive... he and my parents, most of all..."

He shook his head. "But, what really eats me is what happened to _me_ right after..." he said, shame laced in his tone. "I became angry at everyone and everything. I blamed everyone for what happened, regardless of their nationality, allegiance, whatever. I didn't care whether they were from the Earth Forces or from ZAFT. I just hated them. I hated the Earth Forces and Blue Cosmos for what they did. I hated ZAFT for not doing more. And... I hated myself. I hated myself for surviving while the rest of them died. Because of that, I started doing crazy things. I picked fights over practically nothing. I don't even know why I did it. Maybe I wanted to take my anger out on someone... or maybe I just wanted to die..."

A pair of arms suddenly wrapped around him, and Chris heard Flay's soft voice.

"You're wrong, Chris..." she said gently. "Your friend, your parents... they wouldn't want you to feel that way... would they? Don't fight alone: I'm here, your sister's here, Kira's here... we're all here..."

Chris felt his control slip out of his grasp, and the tears came. For the first time in a long, long time... Chris cried. He cried for everyone and everything on the long list of people and things he had lost because of the war.

* * *

The Debris Belt, in the vicinity of Junius Seven

Two hours later

Kira's Aile Strike, Chris' Raven, Liz's Guardian, Mu's Moebius Zero, and several of the _Archangel_'s Mistrals set down on a wide flat area on Junius Seven. It appeared to have once been a park. It was a very familiar park for Chris, to say the least. This was the park where Chris had first met his best friend all those years ago.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Junius Seven_

_April 17 C.E. 64_

_Chris noticed three bullies beating up a smaller, younger boy in the middle of the empty park he was passing through._

_"You're pathetic, you loser!"_

_"Yeah! I mean, who in their right mind would lump Coordinators together with clearly-inferior Naturals?"_

_"When we're through with you, you'll understand why you shouldn't go around spouting that kind of nonsense!"_

"_Hey, you big goon!" Chris shouted, kicking one of the bullies in the back. "Didn't your mommy ever teach you to pick on someone your own size?"_

_The boy fell forward, hitting the pavement. It was obvious that he was out cold. His two buddies turned and started shouting at Chris._

"_What are you doing?"_

"_Why are you defending a traitor to his own people?"_

"_A traitor to his own people?" Chris asked in confusion._

"_Yeah," the first bully said. "This traitor claims that those filthy Naturals are as good as us Coordinators! So, we're going to be educating him."_

_Chris glanced at the boy. The boy was about his age and look terrified and in rough shape. Whatever the boy said, it wasn't a good reason for anyone to have the right to beat him like that._

"_Well in that case… I have to agree with him. You two are about as stupid as those Blue Cosmos morons!" Chris replied to the larger and older boys._

"_Why you little punk!" one of the bullies shouted as he swung his fist at him._

_Chris may have been smaller and younger than these two, but he had one clear advantage over these guys. For the last few years, he had been taking martial arts lessons and he was quite good at it. In fact, his instructor told him that by next year, he'd be ready to participate in tournaments and competitions._

_Chris raised his left arm, blocking the punch. Then before he could pull back, Chris kicked the bully in the stomach as hard as he could. The punk stumbled back, clutching his stomach and moaning. To everyone's surprise, Chris included, he fell to his knees and vomited. The second bully, fearful of losing his own lunch and without his two buddies to back him up, ran away. A moment later, the one that lost his lunch joined him. Chris watched with disgust as the cowards ran away. They harassed people that were smaller than them and couldn't fight back. But as soon as someone fought back, they would flee like the cowards they were._

_Chris walked up to the battered boy lying on the ground. "You okay?" he asked, kneeling down._

"_Yeah…" the boy said. "You didn't have to help me, though."_

"_True. But it was three against one and I wasn't about to let a bunch of spineless weasels beat somebody up," he replied, extending his hand. "Here."_

_The boy took his hand and Chris helped him get back up to his feet. The boy was in pretty rough shape. He had a number of bruises and cuts but nothing appeared to be broken. "C'mon, I'll take you to my parents. They're doctors." he said, helping the injured boy walk. "My name's Chris, Chris Dante. It's nice to meet you. What's your name?"_

"_Me? I'm—"_

* * *

Present Time

_"Hey, Chris! You there? CHRIS!"_ Kira's near shout came over the radio, snapping Chris back into reality.

"Huh... Wha-?"

_"You sure you're okay? You were spacing out there for a moment..."_ Kira replied, the worry evident even over the comm.

"I was just... lost in a memory or two. No worries," Chris answered.

_"If you're not up to it, I can handle enough work for both of us, Chris. You can head on back,"_ Kira said.

"I said I'm fine, Kira. Don't worry," Chris said, lying to keep Kira from worrying.

He didn't really know why he was setting the Raven down on such a nostalgic place. It was as if he was... called to do it. He suppressed a pang of pain as he looked out over the neighborhood he had grown up in, memories assaulting his mind.

The Mistral crews disembarked from their vehicles as the Guardian's cockpit hatch opened. Liz floated down, the enormous amount of flowers they had produced gathered up in her arms.

She stepped to the fore of the group and tossed the flowers up, letting the air, or lack thereof, scatter the offering across the ruins. Everyone, from the gathered Mistral crews, to the bridge crew watching the makeshift ceremony via viewscreen, to Kira, Chris, and Mu in their machines, bowed their heads and said a prayer for all those who had died.

The short memorial service done, Liz floated back up to the Guardian, and the crews once again went back to their individual tasks. The Guardian and the Mistrals went off to begin gathering ice while the Strike, the Raven, and the Zero began patrolling the area.

* * *

An hour later

Kira sighed as he went along his short, fruitless patrol. Although it was preferable to fighting another battle, he couldn't help but shake this sense of unease he felt within.

_"Damn, that was close..."_ Chris' voice came over the comm. _"I just shot down a GINN guys. Better be more alert."_

A few seconds later, Mu's voice came over. _"I'm looking over the wreckage of the GINN... it looks to be a Long-Range Reconnaissance Type. I doubt a ZAFT warship would be inside the Debris Belt, but we should still be careful. Ensign Badgiruel, how much longer until we can move out?"_

_"We should be done in an hour, at most,"_ Badgiruel replied.

_"That's good..."_ Mu replied. _"Captain, once we're all loaded up, we should move out of the debris belt as quickly as possible."_

Murrue responded quickly. _"Yes, I agree, Lieutenant La Flaga. Once we're done with the resupply operation, we'll head straight for Lunar HQ."_

The short conversation done, Kira resumed his patrol, more alert and wary after Chris' encounter with a GINN.

Soon, the _Archangel_ would reach Lunar HQ... where he could leave behind the Strike and go back to his normal life in Orb.

As he moved around a large piece of debris, he spotted something that seemed slightly out of place. He saw what appeared to be a badly damaged civilian shuttle. However, what made it out of place was how new it looked. It hadn't been in there for too long, and the marks from weapons still looked fairly new. Kira assumed that pirates had raided it, due to the decrease in space patrols from both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT.

Before Kira could move, a beep from his sensor alerted him to the presence of a hostile mobile suit. Kira quickly spotted the GINN and ducked behind a large piece of debris, taking aim at it with the scope of his beam rifle. His main screen displayed the GINN to be the same reconnaissance version Chris had encountered earlier.

The GINN, or rather, its pilot, seemed to be inspecting the shuttle. Kira zoomed in, and noticed the apparent female features of the GINN's pilot. He shook his head, clearing his mind. He'd worry about that later.

_'C'mon... just go and leave... I don't want to have to shoot you down...'_

The GINN's pilot, apparently satisfied that its objective wasn't there, went its way.

Or would have had one of the _Archangel_'s Mistrals not drifted right past it just as it turned around. The GINN suddenly took notice and began moving after the Mistral.

"Dammit, why'd you come out?" Kira said, taking aim and firing a single, well-placed shot. The shot struck home, piercing the GINN's battery, destroying it instantly.

_"Thanks, Kira... that was a close one..."_ Jackie Tonomura said.

_"Yeah... thank you so much, Kira..."_ Flay added.

Kira felt conflicted about what he had just done. He had saved his friends, yes, but he had also claimed another life. Just like he had claimed the life of the GINN pilot he had shot down in Heliopolis.

_'Why did this war have to happen? Why'd I get dragged into it?'_ he thought. _'Just because I'm in this by circumstance... does that mean I have to _kill_?'_

The brown-haired Coordinator sighed. He was about to continue on his patrol when a flashing red light alerted him once more. He zoomed in through the beam rifle's scope and spotted a lone, one-person escape pod.

Deciding that saving the person was more important than whoever might be in it, Kira floated over, took it in the Strike's hands, and made his way back to the _Archangel_.

* * *

A few minutes later

The _Archangel_'s Hangar

"You two and your lifepods..." Natarle commented, looking at Kira and Chris. "This is starting to become a habit."

"It may look like any other one-man lifepod... but the fact that GINNs came this far to search for it..." Mu replied. "... means that an important ZAFT personage is probably onboard."

"All right, I'm opening the hatch," Chief Murdoch said as he unlocked the lifepod's entrance/exit hatch, which was being watched by three armed guards who had been brought in for security purposes. The hatch opened to reveal...

"Haro. Haro. Haro. Lacus. Haro."

It revealed a bright pink projectile that launched itself at Chris. He caught it easily enough, just before it slammed into his face.

"Haro! Hello! Haro!" it shouted, panels on its sides flapping rapidly.

"What the... What the hell is this thing?" he asked as he stared at the abomination.

"That is Haro... but you can call him Mr. Pink," came a soft and gentle voice. "Thank you for your assistance. I truly appreciate it."

It was a voice Chris knew. It was a voice almost anyone would know, unless they were living under a rock.

A beatiful teenage girl floated out of the lifepod. Her joyful expression and the life present in her bright blue eyes entranced Kira, who dumbly held onto her to stop her momentum.

"Thank you very much," she said, smiling ever so brightly. Kira blushed at the sight of the serene beauty.

"Uh... no problem, I guess..." he replied. The girl then looked curiously at the Earth Forces patch on the shoulder of Kira's uniform, and glanced uncertainly around at all the other Earth Forces uniforms.

She gulped slightly. "This... wouldn't happen to be a ZAFT ship, would it?" she asked.

The assembled crowd all stared at her in utter shock. Almost.

"Y-you... you're... Lacus Clyne..." Liz said, in a daze.

Chris gave his sister a discreet look. Her eyes were wide at the sight of Lacus. If there was ever a hardcore Lacus Clyne fangirl, it would probably be Liz.

"Yes, that's right."

"M-Miss Clyne, it's..." Liz stuttered, making her way to Lacus. "I-it's... it's an honor to meet you! Can I please have your autograph?"

Chris shook his head and sighed. "Liz... Miss Clyne must be quite exhausted after the ordeal she just went through. Don't harass her like some crazy fangirl of hers. Besides, I think that should wait until she's at least had a bit of rest."

"Rabid fangirl! Haro! Rabid fangirl!" the strange ball robot Lacus had referred to as "Mr. Pink" shouted.

_'The guy who made this thing better hope he never meets me. I want to kick his ass for making this evil thing. Same with the guy who made Birdie.'_

As if on some magical cue, Birdie landed on his head, settling into his hair comfortably.

"Birdie. Birdie," it chirped mechanically.

"Haro! Birdie! Haro!" Mr. Pink replied.

Chris felt a vein throb. This was getting to be too much for his now fragile sanity. "Someone... get these two off of me before I shove them out an airlock!" he demanded. "First Birdy, now this annoying guy! What the hell do they find so appealing about me? Am I a magnet for these things?"

Almost everyone present could do nothing but laugh at Chris' expense. Kira took Birdie and Mr. Pink into his hands, chuckling the whole while.

"That's quite all right," Lacus said, smiling in thanks as Kira returned Mr. Pink to her. "I'd be very happy to give her an autograph. But, please... just call me Lacus."

"She's going to..." Liz whispered, before quickly moving to action. "Somebody get me a pen and some paper, quick!"

Mu chuckled, looking over at Kira. "Well, kid... looks like you brought in one helluva girl..."

Kira looked down sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. A faint blush could be seen on his face if you looked closely enough.

"Well, at least things got a little more lively around here," the blonde lieutenant added, grinning.

* * *

One Hour Later

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

"Captain Ramius, all supplies have been safely loaded and secured," Johanna said as she stepped onto the bridge. "We can depart at any time."

Murrue nodded. "Good. Neumann, take us out of the Debris Belt," she ordered. "Our destination is the Lunar HQ."

"Yes, ma'am," Neumann replied as he started up the engines. The _Archangel_'s thruster array roared to life, and the massive white warship lifted off. Under Neumann's control, the ship easily made it through the field without so much as a scratch.

"So, what exactly are we gonna do about the pink princess?" Mu asked from his seat in the co-pilot's chair. It was a good question, one that everyone had asked themselves at one point or another.

"We're not making any other stops before we reach Lunar Headquarters," Badgiruel said. "And she is a civilian, after all. There won't be any danger."

"Of course she's not in danger, Ensign," Mu said, his voice laced with sarcasm. "She's the daughter of PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne. The top brass is _certainly_ going to welcome her with open arms, offer her their generous hospitality while they arrange safe passage, and then let her go without any trouble."

"Lieutenant La Flaga, I don't like it any more than you do," Murrue said sternly, indicating his tone was not one to be tolerated. "However, there isn't much choice in the matter, now, is there?"

"There is one, Captain," Johanna clarified. "We can try hiding her among the civilians we picked up from Heliopolis. She'll be sent with them to Orb. I'm sure Orb will guarantee her safe passage to one of the nearest ZAFT bases. From there, it's a simple shuttle ride back to the PLANTs."

Murrue thought that one over. "That... could work..." she said thoughtfully.

"It will if everyone on board agrees to do their part," Johanna replied.

* * *

Lacus' Room

The pink-haired songstress looked up from where she had been sitting, content with singing one of her songs. Her expression brightened as she saw the young boy who had helped her back in the hangar. As she looked at him, Lacus couldn't help but be drawn to him. There was something about his violet eyes that had enchanted her from the moment she'd first seen them.

"That's very kind of you," she remarked upon seeing the food tray in his hands. "Thank you very much."

The brunet smiled. "Ah... it's... no problem," he replied. "I'll just set it down here."

"Still, I want to thank you properly, Mister..." she insisted, trailing off upon realizing that she had no idea what his name was.

"Ah... Yamato... K-Kira Yamato..." Kira stammered, slightly embarrassed. Lacus giggled.

"Well then, thank you, Mr. Yamato."

Kira felt some heat rise to his cheeks. "Ah... no, Kira's fine..."

"Alright. Kira, then," Lacus clarified. "Thank you, Kira."

Kira felt his face heat up further.

"Would... you stay and keep me company for a while, Kira?" Lacus asked, a bit of uncertainty in her voice.

Kira's face returned to normal as he smiled.

"Sure, I can do that," he replied as he moved into the room and sat down at a chair.

"So, Kira... tell me about yourself," Lacus said.

"Um... I... uh... where to start...?" Kira stammered. Lacus giggled at the brunet's expense, finding his gentle personality very endearing.

"Okay, I'll go first to show you how it's done," Lacus said.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

"Hm? What's this?" Romero murmured as a reading spilled across his monitor. His fingers instantly began flying over his keyboard as he tried to decipher it.

"Ma'am!" he called out after cracking the code. "We have a transmission!"

"Who is it from?" Murrue asked, shooting up from her chair.

"Verifying... It's from the 8th Orbital Fleet!"

"It's from Admiral Halberton!" Murrue nearly shouted. "Hurry and patch it through!"

A few seconds later, a static-filled transmission filled the bridge, gradually growing clearer. _"Arch... gel... Come... Archangel... This is... gomery..."_

Finally, the transmission broke through. _"Come in, Archangel. This is the Montgomery. We're the advance fleet sent to rendezvous with and escort you to the rest of the 8th Fleet."_

The bridge crew erupted into cheers at the fortunate turn. Things were finally beginning to look up.

* * *

Elsewhere

The _Ardenne_'s Bridge

"Commander, we have three Earth Forces vessels on radar."

"Three ships this far out certainly is unusual, isn't it?" Lucius commented.

"They may be here to rendezvous with the legged ship," Captain Lee said.

"That may be the case. If that's so... then they'll most likely be just a small part of a much larger force," Diana said. "Have they detected our presence?"

"It's still unsure if they have, ma'am. We're on the edge of the Debris Belt, which makes sensor readings that much harder to pick up."

"If they have indeed detected us... then they'll warn the legged ship of the danger. Depending on what kind of captain is in command of that vessel, we may or may not end up facing the legged ship in combat today..." Diana said, her mind racing through the possibilities.

"Commander Kessel, the _Vesalius_ is hailing us."

Diana sighed, keeping her annoyance in check. As much as she hated having to take orders from that man, it would not be any better to spark an incident that would get her and the rest of the Alaric Team in trouble. Until the entire situation with the legged ship was resolved, she would have to follow orders.

_"Commander Kessel, it seems that we've stumbled upon some... unexpected guests,"_ came the voice of the man Diana disliked with a passion._ "They may be here as escorts for the legged ship, so it would be wise to remove them from the equation immediately."_

"So, you're planning to bait the legged ship in by attacking?" Diana surmised. "I suppose this means our search for Miss Clyne will be put on hold for now?"

_"Yes, that is correct, Commander Kessel,"_ Le Creuset answered. _"If the legged ship and its crew come to the aid of their allies, we can draw them in and finish them off here and now. Otherwise, they'll be completely isolated, and most likely low on supplies."_

Rau now smiled. _"Well, Commander... I'll let your team take the lead. I would love to witness that Speartip Maneuver that your team is so famous for."_

Diana contemplated murder, but pushed it aside. "Very well. I'll send out the Speartip Team. Once they've done their jobs, the rest of my team will engage the enemy forces. When, and if, the legged ship appears, we'll bombard the enemy fleet with the main cannons of the _Odin_, the _Valkyrie_, and the _Einherjar_. If not, then we'll simply use the mobile suits to do it. Of course, I assume you'll be deploying your own team of mobile suits?"

_"Of course. Good day, Commander,"_ Rau said before closing the link.

"Damn him... that masked freak..." Ajay cursed. "Who does that bastard think he is... ordering _us_ around - us of all people?"

"Curse him all you want, Ajay, I don't mind. The fact is, that snake of a man has been put in charge. Until we're rid of him, we're stuck being ordered around by him," Diana replied grimly.

She then faced the bridge crew and began barking out orders in a commanding voice. "We're deploying with the Speartip Formation! Bring the ship to Level-One Battle Alert Status! Inform the _Reich__e_ and the _Sertürner_! All pilots are to be on stand-by in their mobile suits! And get Hilda up here _now_!"

A chorus of affirmatives were the only reply before the crew set about their tasks, while Lucius and Ajay headed down to the hangar deck. A few seconds later, Hilda Harken, already clad in her black flight suit, stepped onto the bridge.

"Commander," the orange-haired, one-eyed woman said, saluting crisply. "Is it the legged ship?"

"No... your target is a small Earth Forces battle group," Diana replied. "If we're lucky, our attack will draw the legged ship in, and we'll finish it off here."

"That sucks, Commander. 'If' is a big word. And here I was, hoping we could have a piece of the action."

"I know. I feel the same way. Just get out there and do your jobs. Then fall back, and let us handle the rest."

"Understood," Hilda replied, saluting one more time before departing the bridge.

The _Arden__ne_'s catapult doors opened as the linear catapult set itself into place. Three black and purple GINNs stepped onto the catapult, prepared for launch.

"All right, listen up boys. Our targets are those Earth Forces warships over there," Hilda said. "If we get lucky, then we'll get to take on the legged ship, too."

_"That shouldn't be a problem..."_ Herbert Von Reinhardt commented lazily, his GINN standing behind Hilda's in the line.

_"Yeah! I wanna see what the fuss everyone is making about that new ship and its mobile suits is about!"_ Mars Simeon, the last in line, said, eager to face off against the new mobile carrier and its complement of prototypes.

"Let's go, you bums!" Hilda shouted as she launched.

_"Yeah, yeah..."_ Herbert said as he launched.

_"Right! Let's do this!"_ Mars shouted as he cleared the launch deck, allowing the remaining mobile suits of the _Ardenn__e_ to begin lining up on the catapult, starting with Diana's Panther.

The three GINNs formed up and took off at blazing speeds towards the Earth Forces ships, their pilots hoping against hope that the legged ship would take the bait.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Mess Hall

Chris sat quietly as he ate his lunch, idly listening to the talk amongst the civilian refugees. There was an obvious sense of relief, since the ship was about to rendezvous with an Earth Forces fleet. Even though they weren't out of the woods yet, everyone was already assuming that they were safe. In the back of Chris' mind, he couldn't help but feel that they weren't out of the woods yet. Not until they were all in Orb territory, at the very least.

This also meant that the time to decide was growing ever closer. Should he stay and fight? Or should he leave, and go back to a life of peace in Orb? Kira was most probably going to leave. Good as he was, he just didn't seem to find any satisfaction in fighting. Everything he had done up until now was purely a necessity. His grandfather had once told him that people mainly fought for three reasons: for honor, for a cause they would give their lives for, or to protect the lives of their precious ones.

"What? My father's with the advance fleet?" he suddenly heard Flay ask. Glancing towards the end of the table, Chris could see that she and Sai were talking.

"Yes, that's right," Sai said. "He's on board the flagship, the _Montgomery_."

_'Huh... some good news for a change?'_ Chris thought. _'Odd... I guess we're all so used to bad luck and all that this comes as a bit of a shocker...'_

"Really, Sai?"

"Yeah. I bet he doesn't have a clue that you're on the ship. We just forwarded our crew and passenger lists to them."

Chris thought back to when he had broken down in Flay's arms, and briefly wondered why he had done so. He had told Flay things that he'd kept to himself for so long. He never talked about those things, and yet he had let Flay know and broke down right after. For what had to be the millionth time, he wondered why it was that Flay was occupying more and more of his thoughts as time crawled by, and why he had so easily shared all those buried experiences with her.

_'It's simple, moron. You're crushing on her.'_

_'No way! She's arranged to marry Sai! I can't possibly like her that way!'_

_'So what if she's arranged to marry Sai? Does that have anything to do with your feelings?'_

Chris quickly buried those thoughts as far down as they could go. Flay and Sai were arranged to be married. That meant 'look but don't touch'. He wasn't about to come between them. He suddenly considered staying on board just so he could stay away from Flay.

_'I guess it doesn't matter, really... we'll meet up with the advance fleet, and be on our way. They'll send us to Orb, and I doubt I'll ever see Flay again.'_

Chris then thought of his sister. He was worried right now, because if he volunteered, he knew that she wouldn't be too far behind. And she wasn't a bridge officer any longer. She was the Guardian's pilot, for crying out loud!

Chris couldn't shake the feeling that things weren't about to end smoothly. Why, he didn't know. He was about to stand, but was stopped as a brief but incredibly powerful flash flickered across his senses.

His eyes widened, and he quickly looked around for the source. After a few moments of fruitless searching, he relaxed once more, and thought of it as merely a trick of the mind.

Little did he know that Lieutenant La Flaga had felt it as well.

A few kilometers away, a certain golden-brown-haired pilot was jolted out of his reverie just as suddenly as a flash of light crossed his mind's eye. He clutched at his chest as a pang of pain tore through him, traveling up to his head before disappearing just as fast as it had come.

Gasping for breath as he tried to get his bearings, he looked around, shock clearly visible in his eyes.

"What… was that…?" he asked.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, that's that. It was supposed to be up yesterday, but I was out, so no writing yesterday.**

**I'll probably update the MS Page along with the next chapter, so go ahead and check it out.**

**Hope you enjoyed, and leave a review please.**

**Ja ne, minna! ^_^**


	8. Phase 8: Diverging Roads

**Well, here we go for the next Phase of this fic.**

**Hope you guys will enjoy and leave a review afterwards.**

**Disclaimer: Well, new disclaimer. It's a drag, but I need to tell you who owns what or there would be total chaos and pandemonium.**

**I don't own Gundam SEED, as usual. Part of this chapter I guess you could say I own, but most of it isn't mine. I still own Leon Vanyel, Falkner Grey, the GAT-X209 Sentinel Gundam, and Falkner's CGUE. The GAT-X302 Raven Gundam, the GAT-X204 Surge Gundam, and all other OCs belong to Akatsuki Leader13. The GAT-X308 Guardian Gundam and Zane Scirocco's CGUE Assault Shroud Custom are Maileesaeya's property.**

* * *

Phase Eight: Diverging Roads

February 7, C.E. 71

* * *

The _Vesalius_' Hangar Bay

Athrun watched from the cockpit of his Aegis as crews rushed to outfit the GINNs of the _Vesalius_ with heavier weaponry suited for taking down capital ships. As Athrun continued to refine the OS, he took note that, besides his Aegis and Leon's Sentinel, only two mobile suits were launching without any heavy hand weapons. Zane Scirocco's blood-red CGUE was outfitted with an Assault Shroud unit, giving it the necessary firepower, while Falkner Grey's lavender CGUE Assault's armaments were simply modified versions of the standard equipment, along with a couple of add-ons that weren't part of the standard package.

Athrun couldn't get rid of the uncomfortable feeling that overcame him when he was around Zane and Falkner. Zane himself was unsettling enough,but Athrun could definitely feel warnings going off in his head whenever he came within five meters of Falkner Grey. The man just exuded an unexplainable sense of... danger. Athrun just couldn't shake off his unease, and until he cleared all his suspicions and doubts, he'd keep his guard up.

The ultramarine-haired pilot shook his head as he keyed his comm, opening a line to the two aforementioned pilots.

"Zane, Captain Grey, why aren't you equipping your CGUEs with heavy weapons?"

_"I don't need such weapons for this sort of thing,"_ Zane replied. _"Even my Assault Shroud is unnecessary. My rifle and sword will be enough to deal with these weaklings."_

That threw Athrun a little off. "Weaklings...?"

_"Yes, that's right. Even if the Naturals have developed their own mobile suits, they still can't match the skills of Coordinators. They're like lambs to a slaughter."_

Before Athrun could reply, Falkner's voice came over the comm. _"Now, now, Zane... I know you still dislike the Earth Alliance for what happened in the past, but to underestimate Naturals and their mobile suits would be a fool's error,"_ he said. _"As for your question, Athrun, I'm not much for heavy armaments that slow my machine down. And besides, I want to implement a new philosophy... that the man with the better mobile suit will not always be the one who will be alive at the end of the day."_

Falkner's answer sent a chill right through Athrun, whose thoughts shifted to his longtime best friend, and what might happen should he run up against Falkner Grey's ruthless combat ethic.

_'Kira...'_

_"Man, talk about extremists, huh, Athrun?"_ Leon's voice said. Athrun's eyes widened in panic, but a quick check of his readouts showed this was a private communications line from the Sentinel, one that only the six Red coats - Yzak, Nicol, Dearka, Saul, Leon, and himself - knew. It had, after all, been programmed and scrambled by the two technology specialists of the Le Creuset Team: Saul Kessel and Athrun himself.

Athrun sighed. "Well, those kinds of words are certainly becoming more and more common..." he replied. "Sometimes I get the feeling that both sides are fighting this war for all the wrong reasons."

It really was becoming a problem. The hatred between Naturals and Coordinators was growing daily, and it showed no signs of slowing in the slightest. Shameful as it was, Athrun could see that his father was a large factor in Anti-Natural resentment. Patrick Zala was no longer the man Athrun once knew. The Bloody Valentine had killed his mother... and his father's heart with her.

_"Yes, hatred is certainly going both ways... but there is always hope for a peaceful resolution..."_ Leon replied. _"I believe in the strength and resolve of Master Siegel and Lady Lacus. The world's hope for peace lies with them, and I will do whatever I can to keep that flame of hope burning."_

* * *

Vicinity of the Earth Forces Advance Fleet

"All right, boys," Hilda called out as she and her team approached the enemy warships. "You know the drill: Cripple, paint, and withdraw."

_"With nothing but mobile armors, it won't even be fun..."_ Mars complained. _"There's no rush if we totally outclass them..."_

_"But, it would still be disrespectful if we hold back on them,"_ Herbert added lazily.

_"Hahahahaha... you got that right,"_ Mars replied, laughing.

"Cut the chatter, you two. We still have a job to finish," Hilda said sharply, silencing her two wingmen.

As the Speartip Team descended on the three Earth Forces ships, the mobile armor pilots would be thinking that they could beat three measly GINNs. That would all change, however, when they caught sight of the black and purple paint jobs, and the emblems emblazoned on their shoulders. They would know fear. Fear was the Alaric Team's greatest weapon, and they knew how to use it to their advantage. They were the dregs, the mavericks, and every sort of undesirable soldier ZAFT could have. The Black Hawk gathered them all, put them together under his command, and he trained and molded them into an elite fighting force, and one of the best teams that ZAFT had to offer.

The Speartip Team didn't bother to slow as they came within firing range. Their second greatest weapon was one they, and the rest of the Alaric Team, had used again and again with celebrated success: lightning-quick speed.

"For the Black Hawk!" Hilda shouted proudly, firing on the Earth Forces' mobile armors.

_"For the Black Hawk!"_ Mars and Herbert shouted back as they joined their squad leader's attack.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

"Ma'am, I have three signals detected on long-range sensors..." Romero said. "Confirming ID's... they're the _Bernard_, the _Law_, and the _Montgomery_."

"It looks like... we managed to make it without trouble..." Murrue said, breathing a sigh of relief. Her relaxed posture was short-lived, as Romero spoke up again.

"Wait, I'm detecting increasing levels of N-Jammer interference!"

Murrue bolted upright. "What?"

"Heat signatures detected in the vicinity of the advance fleet!" Jackie called out from the CIC. "There appears to be a battle breaking out!"

"Ma'am, we have an incoming message from the _Montgomery_," Romero said. "It reads: _Cancel rendezvous. Leave the general area, and proceed to the 8th Fleet on your own._"

"How many enemy units are there?" Murrue asked.

"I've got four _Nazca_-class warships just on the edge of this sector. Three GINN High Maneuver Types are currently engaging the escort fleet."

"Your orders, Captain?" Ensign Badgiruel asked, waiting for her Captain's commands.

Murrue sighed. "It looks like our luck's run out once more... And, even if we did run, we'd probably be caught either way. I'm almost certain that it's the Alaric Team and Le Creuset Team out there." She paused to take a breath. "All hands, level one battle stations! The _Archangel_ will provide reinforcement for the advance fleet!"

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Crew Quarters

_"All hands, level one battle stations! I repeat..."_

Chris groaned as he sat up. "Go figure..." he said. "We're finally on the home stretch, and they choose to attack us again."

He bolted off his bed and exited his quarters, stopping as Kira left his own, across from Chris'. The two pilots nodded, before sprinting to the hangar.

"Seriously, I thought we were home free... but these guys just have to be persistent, huh?" he told Kira.

"I just want them to leave us alone. They can fight this war for all I care... I just don't want to be a part of it."

As they rushed down the hallway, the door to Lacus' room opened, much to their surprise. The pair stopped as Lacus's head poked out. "Oh my. What's all the commotion about?"

"Ah, crap... don't tell me that Liz was talking to you and forgot to lock the door afterwards," Chris said in an annoyed tone.

"Actually... both she and Kira have been visiting me quite often," Lacus replied.

_'Uh-huh... that still doesn't explain how the door was unlocked. I don't think Kira would ever forget that...'_

"Anyways, you should get back inside, Lacus," Kira said. "The ship's heading into battle, and we need to get to our stations."

"Are you going to be fighting? Kira, Mr. Dante?" Lacus asked.

"Yes, we are," Chris replied. "Now, please, listen to Kira and get back inside for now."

"I don't wanna, I don't wanna!" Mr. Pink shouted as it bounced around energetically.

"Well, too bad," Chris said as he grabbed the pink abomination. "Because you're going back in."

With that, he chucked the pink ball back into the room. He didn't throw hard, though. He wouldn't want to wreck Lacus Clyne's precious robot pet, no matter how much he wanted to tear it apart. Lacus smiled as she stepped back into her room and closed the door behind her.

Chris shook his head before the pair continued running. As they ran, an absent thought ran through Chris' mind.

_'Odd... were those two referring to each other with a first-name basis?'_

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Hangar

As soon as Kira and Chris had secured themselves and shut the cockpit hatches, they heard it: the voice of one very, very angry girl.

_"What are you talking about, Lieutenant? What do you mean I shouldn't launch yet? I've done the simulations, and I don't need anyone's protection! I'm a pilot, just like the rest of you!"_ Liz shouted as Kira and Chris went through the power-up sequences of their machines. Mu's Moebius Zero was already on the port catapult line.

_"The enemy has no idea that we've completed the Guardian yet,"_ Mu replied. _"If it's really the Alaric Team out there, that already puts us at an overwhelming numbers disadvantage. And if that's Le Creuset's team out there, then that makes our position even worse. Chances are they'll send a group of their units to attack the _Archangel_ while we're focused on protecting the escort fleet. So, we'll leave you behind, and when they get close enough, you slag as many of them as you can in one go. It'll give us just one more advantage we can use."_

_"All right, fine, Lieutenant..."_ Liz said, calming down.

_"Glad you understand, Liz,"_ Mu said before shutting his visor and looking up at the display in time for it to show a green light. _"Mu La Flaga, Zero, taking off!"_

Chris let out a low whistle as the Raven moved into the position La Flaga's machine had just vacated, while Kira and his Strike were loaded up into the starboard catapult, where the Gunbarrel Striker was attached.

"That was something..." he said. "So, Kira, can you pilot the Strike while using those things the way the Lieutenant does?"

Chris heard a sigh over the comm. _"No, it's really something else to use these gunbarrels. I really wonder how the Lieutenant manages to do it so easily."_

_"It's probably just experience,"_ Liz replied. _"He is an old man, after all."_

_"Hey! I am most definitely _not_ an old man!"_ Mu replied indignantly from his Zero.

_"Kira? Chris?"_ Flay's voice suddenly came over. _"My daddy's on board the _Montgomery... _please, promise me that he'll make it out alive."_

_"I promise I'll do my best, Flay,"_ Kira replied. _"We'll do everything we can to protect the fleet."_

Chris, on the other hand, wasn't as confident in their odds. "We'll give it everything we've got," he said. "Just leave the fighting to us, and focus on your job, all right?"

_"O-okay..."_ Flay replied softly.

"That's good," Chris replied, looking up at the catapult display. "Okay, let's do this! Chris Dante, Raven, heading out!"

_"This is Kira Yamato, Strike, launching!"_

The Strike and Raven both activated their Phase Shift Armor and gunned their thrusters, heading right for the battle zone.

* * *

Vicinity of the Advance Fleet

Hilda fired rounds from her machine gun on the _Law_'s engines, scoring hits that crippled the escort ship and left it dead in space. As she made preparations for the next phase, she was forced to pull back as a trio of mobile armors opened fire on her. She danced around the shots with practiced ease and began circling the _Law_, keeping her GINN's brightly glowing monoeye trained on the escort ship at all times.

A light lit up on her console, indicating that the _Law_'s coordinates have been received by the Alaric Team's three warships.

_'One down, two more to go...'_

_"This one's been tagged,"_ Herbert said, referring to the _Law_'s sister ship, the _Bernard_. _"All that's left is their flagship."_

"All right, let's finish up here and let the rest take over," Hilda called out, but a warning on her radar alerted her to a new set of signals. A glance told her all she needed to know, and what it was telling her prompted a slight smile to take over. She punched her comm unit and switched to the general Alaric Team frequency.

"_Ardenne_, Hilda here. I have her. The legged ship has been sighted."

* * *

The _Ardenne_'s Hangar

_"Ma'am, message from the Speartip Team! The legged ship has entered the battle zone!"_

Diana smiled. Their plan, simple as it was, had worked to perfection. "Good. Recall the Speartip Team. Have all remaining mobile suits deploy, and target the painted escort ships with the main cannons of the _Ardenne_, the _Reiche_, and the _Sertürner_," she ordered as she shut her visor and went through her final start-up procedures. "Oh, and, one more thing. That Moebius Zero is _mine_."

_"Commander, we've yet to receive the coordinates of the _Nelson_-class."_

"Use what you have. If we have the opportunity, we'll send you the coordinates. Otherwise, we'll destroy it ourselves. Don't worry yourself over it."

_"Yes, ma'am."_

Diana looked up at the catapult, watching as it turned from red to green. "This is Diana Kessel. CGUE, launching!"

She hit the throttle, launching her CGUE into space. One by one, the remaining mobile suits of the _Ardenne_ followed, as the mobile suit teams of the _Reiche_ and the _Sertürner_ formed up alongside the mobile suits of the _Ardenne_.

A fourth group of mobile suits, the _Vesalius_' units, formed up next to the Alaric Team's three mobile suit groups, with the Sentinel and the Aegis in the lead, two CGUEs right behind them, and three GINNs bringing up the rear.

* * *

Vicinity of the Advance Fleet

Two beams and two railcannon rounds lanced out from the approaching Strike and Raven, scattering the Speartip Team. The Moebius pilots waited for what they thought would be the inevitable clash between the Earth Alliance's first mobile suits and the three GINNs of the Alaric Team. The trio, however, only fired a few rounds from their weapons to dissuade the two G-units, before fleeing in the direction of their fleet.

The fleet's surviving mobile armor pilots let out a cheer. _"You did it! You scared them off!"_

_"No, we didn't..."_ Mu replied grimly. _"Not by a long shot. That was the Alaric Team's Speartip. The real attack hasn't even started yet."_

As if to punctuate Lieutenant La Flaga's words, two pairs of beams lanced through space, gutting the _Bernard_ and the _Law_.

"No..." Kira breathed. Just like that, the fleet had lost two-thirds of its fighting power. He gripped the controls harder. He couldn't, no... he _wouldn't_ break his promise to Flay!

As if to further compound their problems, Ensign Badgiruel's voice came over the comm. _"Strike, Raven, and Zero, we have incoming mobile suits! Thermal patterns identified! The GAT-X209 Sentinel, the GAT-X303 Aegis, three CGUEs, and over a dozen GINNs inbound!"_

_"Are you kidding me?"_ Chris asked incredulously. _"That's over seventeen mobile suits! How the hell are we supposed to beat that?"_

_"I don't know, Chris... but we have no choice,"_ Mu replied. _"It's fortunate Liz agreed to stay back. A surprise attack from her and the Guardian could be the one thing that keeps us all alive."_

* * *

"So, Athrun... which of these mobile suits are you going to take? Do you want the Strike, or do you want the Raven?" Zane asked as the _Vesalius_' mobile suits neared the remaining units of the Earth Forces.

Zane smirked, already predicting what Athrun would say. It was far too obvious that the fool would go after his friend and the Strike. He'd try to take his friend alive and try to talk some sense into him afterwards. It was a futile effort on Athrun's part. The traitor had made his choice, and only one thing could be done about it: destroy him _and_ his mobile suit.

_"I'll take the Strike,"_ Athrun replied.

_'Heh... what a fool... as fatally predictable as his father...'_

_"I'll head for the legged ship with part of the Alaric Team's suits,"_ Falkner's voice came over. _"Zane, you take the Raven. Leon will move ahead and take out the _Nelson_-class, then he'll just provide assistance where it's necessary."_

_"If you want to take him down, you better move fast, because I'm not holding back,"_ Leon replied as the Sentinel's thrusters kicked in, propelling the cerulean blue mobile suit forward.

Zane watched it for a split-second, before focusing all his attention on the midnight-blue mobile suit, the Raven. He was getting an odd, tingling feeling from it, but he simply brushed it off. Such distractions could prove fatal.

* * *

Mu jerked his Zero to the left, evading a burst of machine gun fire from a CGUE with an all-too-familiar paint scheme. It bore the same colors as that fifth GINN he'd shot down at Endymion.

_"It's about time, Mu La Flaga. Today, things will be different!"_ a voice said on the comm, no doubt the voice of the CGUE pilot. _"I will avenge my loss at Endymion, and the shame that accompanied it!"_

The blonde lieutenant swore to himself. _'This is karma, isn't it? For all the skirt-chasing I did when I was younger...'_

Mu pulled his Zero into a hard right turn, swinging it around to face the CGUE. He deployed his gunbarrels and fired. The CGUE jerked in surprise when, instead of the expected machine gun rounds, it faced a hail of beams and missiles.

He grinned. "Looks like I'll have to thank the kid and Chief Murdoch for this one..." he murmured. It had been Kira's idea to install one of the spare Gunbarrel Strikers onto the Zero, and Chief Murdoch got it done spectacularly.

_'With beam weapons in the Zero's arsenal,'_ Mu thought. _'I just might not be so obsolete yet...'_

* * *

Vicinity of the _Archangel_

Falkner's CGUE, along with a half-dozen GINNs of the Alaric Team, closed in with the legged ship. Just before they could commence firing, they stopped in surprise as the ship's portside catapult opened.

_"What the hell? All their mobile suits have deployed! There shouldn't be any more for them to launch,"_ one said, clearly confused.

Falkner's eyes narrowed in thought for a split-second, before they grew wide in alarm.

"Everyone, scatter! Get out of the line of the catapult!" he shouted into the comm.

The pilots of the Alaric Team hesitated for a split-second before reacting, but that split-second proved to be fatal.

A trio of beams lanced out from the catapult, the large beam skewering a GINN and vaporizing it instantly, while the two smaller beams blew holes right through another's torso, leaving it to float in space for a moment before exploding.

Falkner watched as a streamlined fighter-like mobile armor shot out from the catapult, and, despite the dark purple color scheme and its current form, instantly recognized it.

"It's that last one..." he murmured.

The mobile armor flew right at one of the GINNs, a reckless maneuver in the eyes of many. The GINN pilot, unsure of what the Guardian's pilot was planning, immediately began backing off as he readied a round from his Cattus. He took aim and fired, but the Guardian dodged the round with ease and closed to point-blank range. The wings spread out from the main body, and, as if on cue, beam blades sprung to life on the forward edge.

The GINN was helpless against the blades, and was torn completely in half by the powerful weapons. The mobile armor pulled 'up', transforming into its mobile suit mode not unlike its counterparts.

Despite himself, a feral grin found its way onto Falkner's face. "Not bad at all, rookie... Even with a machine as strong as yours is..." he commented. "I hope you can at least keep up with me for a while."

The mobile suit's pilot had gotten lucky with his sneak attack, but the element of surprise had long worn-off. And, in Falkner's eyes, the Guardian was nothing more than prey for his talons.

* * *

Somewhere between the _Archangel_, the _Montgomery_, and the ZAFT Fleet

Chris, with his Raven in mobile armor mode, dove to avoid a burst of rounds from the blood-red CGUE he was facing. Despite Chris' evasive maneuvers, a fair number of bullets still hit the midnight-blue mobile suit, but the Phase Shift Armor held up, absorbing all the damage those rounds could be doing. The CGUE's pilot was good - certainly not as good as Rau Le Creuset, but still _very_ good. Fortunately, Chris wasn't some total greenhorn who just jumped in. The Raven had a few tricks up its sleeve to even the game.

The Raven nimbly wove through the hail of bullets, transforming into its mobile suit mode as it did so, and turned, firing its dual hyper-velocity cannon at the CGUE.

"Tch... tricky bastard, aren't you..." Zane muttered as he dodged the Raven's return fire. "Take this!"

He let loose with his assault rifle and vulcan cannon, but he noted with annoyance that, despite all the shots that struck the Raven, it hadn't been affected in the slightest. He cursed as he stored the rifle, before firing a salvo of missiles.

With the midnight-blue suit distracted, Zane took control of the railgun on the right shoulder. He took aim and pulled the trigger, but his eyes widened in surprise when the weapon exploded instead of firing a round.

"Argh! Damn it!" Zane swore as he realized the cause of such a failure. He had been adamant that the railgun needed no maintenance, simply because it was soon to be replaced by a newer, more powerful weapon. He didn't think that he'd actually need to use the railgun before it was replaced, so he had made it clear to the mechanics that the rest of his mobile suit took priority in maintenance. It was something the mechanics had followed to the letter, much to his present dismay. As a result, the firing shaft wasn't in prime condition, and thus the railgun jammed when the trigger was pulled, causing it to explode. It wouldn't have exploded if it wasn't already heavily modified to be three to four times stronger than the factory default railgun was.

Chris didn't bother to question his good fortune. He'd take anything that would keep him alive at this point.

The CGUE closed in rapidly, its heavy sword in its hand. Chris raised his shield and blocked the slash, drawing a beam saber and returning the favor. The CGUE dodged backwards before closing in and kicking the Raven square in the chest, sending it tumbling through space.

"Ugh... damn..." Chris grit out. "He's... skilled...!"

* * *

The Strike and Aegis rushed at each other with their beam sabers drawn and clashed, both friends attempting to overpower the other. The direct contact allowed for private communications between the two, and they were quick to make use of the privacy offered.

"Athrun! Why the hell won't you just stop?" Kira shouted. "If it weren't for you, my friends and I could have just left this war behind!"

_"Don't give me that crap, Kira!"_ Athrun replied. _"Why are you, a Coordinator, allying yourself with the Earth Alliance?"_

They broke apart, and separated. Kira drew his rifle and fired, with Athrun dodging and returning fire. Kira raised his shield and blocked.

"I told you, Athrun! I just want to protect my friends who are on that ship! I won't let you hurt anyone! I won't let you hurt her!"

Athrun's eyes widened slightly. "... Her...?" he murmured in slight surprise, but shook it off. Now wasn't the time. If they both somehow survived this war, he'd ask Kira about it, but for now... they were enemies, and they were supposed to kill each other.

Kira fired again. Athrun dodged once more, and quickly encircled the Strike.

_"When it comes to mobility, you're no match for the Aegis!"_ Athrun said._ "Just give up!"_

"You were the one so opposed to war! You give up!" Kira replied, before flipping a few switches.

_'Well, here goes... it's my first time to try them out in actual combat, but...'_ he thought, and an image of his friends, of Lacus, flashed through his mind. _'I have to do this! For everyone!'_

For sure, Athrun, intelligent as he was, had noticed the difference in the Strike's performance. Now it was time to show him just why he'd sacrificed so much agility, as the four gunbarrels deployed.

* * *

Vicinity of the _Montgomery_

Leon closed in on the large _Nelson_-class ship, his eyes narrowing as he dodged incoming fire from the ship's many machine cannons. The _Montgomery_ launched a barrage of missiles at the Sentinel, with several of the surviving Moebiuses providing additional fire.

Leon backed off and began barrel-rolling while boosting backwards, firing his beam rifle once, twice, three times. Two Moebiuses and a small group of missiles exploded, but more still kept on coming. Gritting his teeth, the red coat drew both of his machine's beam glaives and combined them into a double beam glaive. He spun the large weapon before him, deflecting bullets and destroying missiles before they impacted with his mobile suit.

"Okay, you had your chance... but you won't get another!" he said as he punched the throttle up, sending the Sentinel surging at the formation. As he forged a path right through the formation, he spun the double glaive around with his mobile suit's right hand, then the left hand, slashing all around his mobile suit with it, shredding mobile armors left and right. He dodged a railgun round from one of the few remaining mobile armors and closed to melee-range.

The right arm's Ouroboros claw set itself into position, and he grabbed the Moebius. Spinning, he shot the claw out, the mobile armor still firmly in its vice-like grip, at the _Montgomery_'s hull. The mobile armor hit the hull, but the claw forced it right through the hull like paper, where it exploded, causing massive damage to the bow of the ship.

Leon retracted the right arm claw and boosted up, landing on top of another Moebius and cleaving it in half with his double beam glaive.

* * *

Main Battlefield

_'It's official,'_ Athrun thought. _'I absolutely _hate _incomplete intel...'_

Then again, knowing about this wouldn't have made a difference. He never thought _Kira_ would be able to use them properly, and yet, here Kira was, showering the Aegis with a hail of beams and missiles from all sides.

Athrun was too busy keeping his mobile suit in one piece, however, to notice that the Strike was currently immobile.

Kira really had his work cut out for him, using every ounce of concentration he had to keep the gunbarrels out of Athrun's reach, yet mobile enough to be able to attack the Aegis from various angles. He counted his blessings that only Athrun went after him. If the Sentinel had gone after him along with the Aegis, Kira wouldn't have had such an opportunity, and he'd be outmatched, his friends too busy with their own battles to aid him.

A shot from the Aegis, however, prompted Kira to draw the gunbarrels back in. They were already becoming sluggish, and he decided that it would be enough for now. Kira fired his beam rifle, taking another shot from Athrun on his shield. The two machines again closed and drew beam sabers, crashing their weapon against the other's shield.

* * *

Chris finally found an opening in the guard of his increasingly frustrated opponent. Without hesitation, he struck, severing the blood-red CGUE's left arm at the elbow, taking the shield with it and leaving it far more vulnerable to the relatively unharmed Raven, though it was already beginning to run low on power.

"You're not going to last! Just get out of here!" he shouted. _'Otherwise, _I'm _the one who's going to be outlasted...'_

* * *

The Guardian fired her hyper-impulse beam rifle, which the lavender CGUE dodged. Liz grit her teeth. The pilot of the CGUE was something else, clearly an ace with a great deal of experience. Liz transformed the Guardian into its mobile armor mode and charged, firing her beam guns and hyper-impulse beam rifle as she approached.

To her surprise, the CGUE deflected the shots from her beam guns with its sword, and took the shot from her hyper-impulse beam rifle on his shield, before he boosted over the Guardian's wings and struck downwards, his sword scraping against the mobile suit's wings, but otherwise leaving no damage.

Liz transformed and turned to find the CGUE closing in on her. Left with no choice, she drew a beam saber and clashed, blade against blade, with the enemy ace. They broke apart, and fired - Liz with her left arm's grenade launchers and hyper-impulse beam rifle, and the lavender CGUE with its double vulcans.

The grenades exploded mid-way, and the two machines' continued fire split through the explosion cloud. The CGUE's vulcan shots splashed harmlessly over the Guardian's Phase Shift Armor, while the hyper-impulse beam rifle tore the CGUE's right arm clean off, leaving nothing below the shoulder.

* * *

Vicinity of the _Montgomery_

Leon closed with the _Nelson_-class and fired off the left arm claw, clamping onto the hull. Hitting his thrusters to gain speed, he used the claw as a tether, and the ship as a massive anchor, and swung below and around it, landing on its hull... right in front of the bridge. The Sentinel's crimson eyes flashed as it raised its right arm's Ouroboros claw and held it to the side, the short-range plasma beam cannon coming to life as it quickly gathered energy. The powerful weapon's nozzle crackled with electricity as the concentrated energy continued to gather, taking an orb-like shape in the process.

Leon took note, for a brief second, of the startled and frightened looks on the faces of the bridge crew, especially the fearful expression of a middle-aged man in a business suit. He hesitated, then flicked a switch and began issuing a message through optical communications.

_'You have ten seconds to indicate your surrender. Do so, and I'll guarantee your lives and safe passage for your remaining forces.' _He frowned, knowing that this act may be frowned upon... but he was of the belief that lives should not be needlessly thrown away. Not even in war.

After waiting the promised time, the crew hadn't moved, fired signal flares, nor had they broadcast any agreement over an open channel.

"So that's how it is. I'm sorry, then, but..." he said quietly as he bowed his head, conflicted about the deed he was about to perform. When he raised his head once more, a fierce glow resonated in his eyes. However, no one, not even Leon himself, knew that his right eye's cold blue iris had eerily turned molten red for a brief moment, before slowly fading back to its normal color.

"This is your end," Leon said, softly but with pure conviction, as he punched the Sentinel's right arm forward. The claw pierced the bridge, and Leon pulled the trigger, firing the plasma beam cannon, blowing a hole right through the rest of the ship.

The Sentinel drew its arm back and leaped off, before the _Montgomery_ was utterly consumed in a massive fireball.

* * *

Main Battlefield

"No..." Chris whispered. Flay's screams of terror tore through the comm. channels they were using, and although Chris couldn't help but feel for her, he knew that they were in a situation that did not bode well.

_'It's worth screaming about, actually...'_

If things weren't bad before, they definitely were now. There couldn't be a worse possible scenario. The _Archangel_ itself was outnumbered four-to-one, and even with the _Nazca_-class ships out of the equation, the _Archangel_ now had to face the Alaric Team's GINNs all on its own. His Raven, the Guardian, and the Moebius Zero were facing the three CGUEs, and barely managing to hold their own. The Strike was evenly matched against the Aegis, and the Sentinel was currently inbound, heading right for him.

_"Attention, ZAFT Forces,"_ Ensign Badgiruel said over the comm. _"This is the Earth Alliance warship, the _Archangel_. We are currently holding on board this ship the daughter of PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne, Ms. Lacus Clyne. By chance, we happened upon her lifepod and took her in for humanitarian purposes. If you persist in attacking, we cannot guarantee her continued safety."_

Everyone on both sides stopped moving entirely.

"Ah, dammit..." Chris muttered. "This isn't going to go over well..."

* * *

"Who gives a damn about the Pink Princess?" Zane said in utter disgust. They had a perfect opportunity to change the tide of the war right here! Surely it was worth the sacrifice of a pink-haired diva!

_"This is an unexpected development..."_ Diana said. _"All forces, withdraw immediately!"_

"WHAT?" Zane shouted in outrage.

* * *

The _Vesalius_

Rau stared out at the battlefield. "This changes everything..." he muttered, before he decided that Commander Kessel's course of action was the correct one.

"We shall withdraw for the time being!" he said. He watched with mild interest as the ZAFT Forces immediately started to withdraw.

* * *

Main Battlefield

"GAH! DAMN IT ALL!" Zane shouted as he slammed his fist on his command console. But, he too followed orders and withdrew, leaving only the Sentinel and Aegis as the remaining ZAFT Forces on the field.

The Aegis and the Strike stared each other down, neither one having moved since the broadcast.

_"What a dirty trick, Kira... Using a rescued civilian as a hostage..."_ he said. _"Is _this_ your sense of justice? Fighting alongside such treacherous company?_

"Athrun... I..." Kira mumbled, having lost all the strength in his body.

_"I'm going to rescue her... even if I have to kill each and every one of you!"_ Athrun announced. _"And that's a promise!"_

The Aegis turned and followed its comrades back to the fleet of ZAFT ships.

The Raven and the Sentinel faced off, beam saber and double beam glaive at the ready, like two warriors who were about to duel to the death. To Chris' surprise, however, the Sentinel lowered its weapon and began to back off.

_"Now isn't the right time..."_ he said. _"Keep yourself alive, Raven, at least until we can have a real battle."_

After a mock salute with the beam glaive, the cerulean blue mobile suit followed the Aegis back home.

Chris breathed a sigh of relief. "That pilot's a pretty decent guy... and from what I've seen, I don't think he's scratched the surface of what he can do at the controls of the Sentinel..." he said thoughtfully. "Yeah... I'll stay alive... until we settle this between us."

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Hangar

Kira powered down the Strike glumly, set the OS lock, and climbed out of the cockpit. He smiled at Chief Murdoch's compliments for utilizing the gunbarrels, but, that aside, he remained quiet as he headed out of the hangar. That all changed when he caught sight of Lieutenant La Flaga coming up towards him. Kira's numbness was suddenly replaced with anger, and, unfortunately for the blond lieutenant, he decided to take it out on Mu.

"What the hell was that stunt, Lieutenant?" he shouted angrily, fixing a glare at the older man. "What is Ensign Badgiruel thinking? Damn it!"

"She's being a military officer, Kira..." Chris said wearily as he and Liz floated over. "And, unfortunately or not, the more decent military officers are more concerned with keeping themselves, and their comrades, alive to fight another day."

Kira shook his head. "That still doesn't justify what she did! Using Lacus like that isn't right!" he stated. "I don't care how bad the situation was, that was going too far!"

"Look, Kira..." Mu said. "I know what Ensign Badgiruel did was pretty low. I don't exactly approve of it, either. But, it _did_ keep us alive a little bit longer. I'm sure that if the ZAFT forces are open to negotiations, we can return Ms. Clyne in exchange for a temporary cease-fire. I'd think that would work out, seeing as we don't want the Alaric Team on our tails the entire way."

At that point, the hangar doors opened, and Miriallia floated in, a concerned expression on her face. Liz was the first to notice, and immediately called out.

"Miriallia!"

Kira and Chris looked up, and instantly voiced the first question in their mind.

"How's Lacus?"

"How's Flay?"

The two boys looked at each other in surprise, but brushed off the fact they'd just spoken at exactly the same time.

"Lacus is fine... for now..." Miriallia replied, before looking to the side. "But, Flay's... she's..."

Chris and Kira gave each other a glance, and both nodded. "Let's go," Chris said. "We should at least check up on Flay first."

* * *

The _Vesalius_' Hangar

Zane was pissed, but not because of the retreat. Oh, no. It was because of that damned Raven. It was painfully obvious that he was the better pilot, but the machine was too damn powerful. His rifle, his sword, his missiles, and his vulcan gun were all worthless against it! And the railgun, the only weapon he had that could punch through the damned armor, had malfunctioned, leaving him with nothing to fight the Raven on equal terms with.

He rubbed his temples as he re-examined the damage report from the mechanics. His assessment of the situation had indeed been correct: the railgun had jammed due to lack of maintenance. Curse his short-sighted stupidity.

"Sir, would you like us to replace the railgun for your CGUE? Or would you like a heavy ion cannon instead?" his mechanic asked.

"No, I need something that won't slow my CGUE down any further... my thermal cannon was loaded before we departed the PLANTs, right?" he asked. Upon the mechanic's nod, he continued. "Good, get it installed for me as soon as possible."

As the mechanic left to carry out his orders, Zane looked out the window at his custom machine. "Next time... I'll take you down next time, Raven! Just you wait!"

* * *

The _Archangel_, Flay's Quarters

Kira had gone ahead of the rest, reaching Flay's quarters before they had. What shocked them was the scream they heard as soon as Kira had opened the door.

"YOU LIAR!" the group heard Flay scream at Kira. Sai was in the room as well, restraining the hysterical girl as she clawed at the front of Kira's uniform. She stopped as she caught sight of Chris among them.

"AND YOU!" she screamed once more. "You're just as bad as Kira is! You promised my daddy would be okay! But you weren't even trying! It's because you're both Coordinators!"

In any other situation, Chris would have let her vent a little more. But, at this point, Chris decided enough was enough, having long lost his patience for rants such as these.

"That's enough, dammit!" he shouted back, surprising everyone. "Kira, the Lieutenant, and I all fought our hardest out there! To even claim that we weren't trying is insulting! Your father wasn't the only one who died out there today! Don't even delude yourself for a second that you're the only one who lost someone! For your information, this is a war! More and more people are dying every day! Stop being the spoiled, selfish brat you are, and grow up! But, if you really want to take your anger out on someone, then take it out on me, not Kira!"

Flay slapped him. "Come on! Is that it? I thought you were angry!"

She slapped him, and, judging by the sound, it was _definitely_ harder.

"Is that all you got? Use your anger! Come on, hit me!"

"Chris, stop!" Kira admonished. "This isn't going to solve anything!"

"Brother, don't be an idiot!" Liz shouted.

Chris turned to Liz and Kira. "Just stay out of this! I know what I'm-!"

He was cut short as an impact rang loudly throughout the room. Chris stood there for a moment. He blinked his eyes once, the only indicator he was still conscious.

"Ow..." he said simply, before collapsing in a sprawled heap on the floor.

Flay stood over him, still breathing heavily. Tears still streamed down her face as she held a now-bent food tray in her hands.

"Ugh... Chris, what did I tell you...?" Liz said as she facepalmed. "I'll take him to his quarters..."

With that, Liz picked up her brother's motionless form with surprising ease and began walking in the direction of his room.

Kira looked back at Flay, a sad, melancholic look in his eyes. "I'm sorry..." he said quietly, but loud enough for her to hear. With that, he disappeared as well, leaving Flay to collapse, sobbing uncontrollably.

* * *

Rear Observation Deck

"Argh!" Kira cried out in frustration as he planted his fists against the pane of the viewport. "No... why...?"

He had told Athrun that he wouldn't let anyone hurt Lacus... yet, was it ZAFT that was threatening her safety? No... it was one of the officers on board the ship he had sworn to protect.

"Is there... a problem...?" came a soft and gentle voice, drawing Kira out of his internal conflict. He looked up to see Mr. Pink float out of his view, revealing the very girl who had become the center of his thoughts.

Lacus was looking at him with a mixed expression of concern and interest, and she shifted slightly, righting herself in the zero-g environment. As she got a better look at Kira, she frowned as she reached her hand out towards the brunet's face.

Realizing Lacus' intentions, Kira backed away and dried his tears on the sleeve of his uniform.

"I can't believe you got out again..." he said. "What are you doing here...?"

The pink-haired diva smiled, giggling as she pushed off the window.

"Mr. Pink and I were taking a walk... but then I heard a cry from this direction, and I wanted to see what was the matter," she replied.

"Well... you shouldn't be walking around here alone..." Kira said, exhasperated. "That would give some of the others an excuse to label you a spy."

"Is that so..." Lacus said as she took hold of Kira's arm to slow herself to a stop. "But... Mr. Pink..."

"Haro! Haro!" the ball-shaped robot suddenly said.

"He enjoys walks... and it saddens him when he can't take any..." Lacus replied. "No matter what kind of lock they use on a door, he can always let himself out."

Kira sighed. The pink ball had a built-in electronic lock pick. It was no wonder how Lacus kept escaping her quarters. Chris might have been pretty accurate after all when he called Haro "the cursed ball of doom, despair, and infinite annoyance".

"I... see..." Kira murmured. "But still, I better take you back to your room."

Lacus giggled again as she pushed off, but she hadn't traveled far when Kira was tugged along for the ride. They then realized that they hadn't let go of each others' hands, and quickly did so, blushes adorning both teens' cheeks.

"It appears... that I've caused you trouble..." Lacus whispered.

Kira frowned as he gazed upon Lacus' sad expression.

"No, you haven't done anything of the sort..." he replied. "Because of us, you're in a very dangerous position."

Although he didn't show it, part of him was worried for Lacus, regardless of his feelings for her. Her situation was not a good one because of Ensign Badgiruel's actions, and there was nothing he could do to help. There was almost no chance of Lacus getting off the _Archangel_ until they reached Lunar HQ. But, when they arrive, and if the commanders noticed her presence, it could spell disaster for her.

It was then that he looked up, a fierce determination in his eyes. No, there was something he could do before such a situation would present itself. It was very risky, but when he looked at Lacus, he instantly made his choice.

Kira grabbed her hand. "Come with me," he said.

* * *

Meanwhile

Chris groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. "What hit me?"

"Flay did," Liz replied.

"Damn" Chris said, rubbing the back of his head. "I wouldn't have antagonized her like that if I knew she hit that hard..."

"She hit you with a food tray."

"Oh. That explains a lot... I thought I was getting weak there for a moment..."

"The foodtray hitting your head aside, what, exactly, did that accomplish?"

"We'll have to wait and see. Maybe it accomplished something... and maybe it didn't do anything," Chris answered. "It's all up to Flay at this point. So, how long was I out?"

"Around forty-five minutes, give or take," Liz said. "You're lucky that your skull's as thick as it is."

Chris shrugged. "Has anything changed since?"

Liz shook her head. "Nah. We're still stuck in the same situation..." she said. "Though I don't think it'll be long before that changes. Kira's probably getting ready to return Lacus to the ZAFT fleet right about now."

"Really? Judging by Ensign Badgiruel's announcement, I could have sworn we were using her as a hostage..." Chris commented.

"Well, I don't think he ever stopped to let the Captain know what he was doing," his sister replied.

"Damn, I guessed as much," Chris said as he jumped off the bed. "Well, we can't let anything go wrong. Let's head him off. I think the locker room should work."

Liz nodded and stood up. "I'll see if I can get anyone else to help out in this."

* * *

"Please, just let us go, Tolle," said Kira, looking down. "I can't go along with this."

Tolle peered at Kira silently. The moments stretched out for what seemed to be an eternity.

"I guess we're the bad guys this time, stealing the girl away," he said at last. "Maybe you've got plans to steal her back?"

Kira looked up, suddenly hopeful.

"I'll help you out," Tolle said. "Follow me. I'll keep watch."

They did so, but upon entering the locker room, they found a surprising reception waiting for them.

"Taking Lacus back to the ZAFT forces?" Chris asked.

"Yes. Are you going to stop us?" Kira asked.

"Yes and no."

"Huh?"

"I should take her," Chris said. "You and the Strike are-"

"Don't finish that sentence, Chris!" Kira said. "I won't have it! You're not any less important than I am! You, your sister, and I... we're all the same! We're just protecting our friends, and we're working together to do it! Besides... this is something I have to do."

Chris looked at Kira in mild surprise for a moment, before grinning. "I'm not talking you out of this, am I?" he said, more a statement than a question. "Alright, but I'm still going with you."

Kira nodded as he stepped in to put his pilot suit on, and to give Lacus one of their space suits.

* * *

A short while later

Kira stepped out of the locker room, clad in his light blue pilot suit, with Chris right behind him, also ready to go.

"The coast is still clear," Tolle said. "You better hurry."

As the three teens dashed towards the hangar, Chris voiced his worries.

"I just have to get this out... who's handling the catapult?" he asked.

"Your sister came by, and told me Sai and Miri were gonna handle the hangar, while she's with Miss Lacus."

Just then, they entered the hangar. Liz and Lacus were already waiting near the Strike. Chris gave them a brief nod as he passed them on his way to the Raven, while Kira leaped into the Strike's open cockpit.

"Let's go, Lacus," Kira said as the pink-haired diva floated into the cockpit, settling herself on Kira's lap. With his passenger settled, Kira shut the Strike's cockpit hatch.

"Let's go, Haro, let's go!" Haro cried out as Kira moved the Strike towards the catapult. He smiled as he imagined what Chris would have been feeling had he actually been the one to take Lacus. For sure, he wouldn't miss the round robot.

"What's going - hey! What are you kids up to?" Murdoch shouted as he and the rest of the mechanics rushed into the hangar, frantically shouting as the Strike and the Raven locked themselves into the catapult, where the Strike equipped the Aile Striker.

On cue, the catapults opened, prompting a slight smile from Kira.

_'Thanks Mir, Sai...'_ he thought.

"Hold on, Lacus," he said as the catapult launched the Strike into space, the Raven launching from the opposite catapult before pulling up alongside the Strike.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

"What's going on?" Ensign Badgiruel demanded as they watched the two rogue mobile suits headed out.

"The Strike and Raven have launched!"

"I know that, but where are they headed?" Natarle shouted.

Mu's face appeared on the screen. _"They're probably returning the Pink Princess to ZAFT,"_ he said.

"They're _what_?" Natarle cried in disbelief and anger, while the rest of the bridge crew hid smiles of elation, Murrue included.

"Good going, you two..." she whispered.

_"What did you expect, Ensign? No one was too happy about that stunt you pulled,"_ Mu said. _"In any case, I'm prepping the Zero for launch, just in case. Liz is doing the same in the Guardian. It doesn't hurt to be careful if things don't go according to plan."_

With that, Mu cut the connection.

* * *

The Strike

"Is something the matter, Kira?" Lacus asked as she noticed Kira's rather down expression.

"N-no, it's nothing..." Kira replied. "I just don't want to fight anymore... and I especially don't want to fight against Athrun..."

"Athrun...?" Lacus asked, suddenly interested.

"Yeah... Athrun Zala..." Kira confirmed. "He's in that red mobile suit, the Aegis... I never expected to meet him again, not under _these_ circumstances..."

_'... Again...?'_ Lacus thought, wondering what sort of connection bound the two together.

"I see... you and Athrun are so alike," Lacus said. "You and he are both good people, very good people... it's a sad reality for you to now have to face each other in battle..."

"Huh? You know Athrun?" Kira asked.

"Yes. He is to be a part of my life..." Lacus replied. "Athrun Zala is the man I will eventually be marrying."

Those words sent an a jolt of disappointment through both teens. They hid their feelings well enough that neither saw the others' reaction to it.

"He's a very kind individual, though he is on the quiet side," Lacus continued. "And it was nice of him to give me this Haro."

"Haro. Haro."

"I told him that it made me happy, having Haro as company..." she said. "After that, he'd give me one Haro after another."

Lacus smiled, and Kira saw affection in that smile... just not the kind he expected. It was more of a "lifetime friend" affection than a "future husband" affection, and it surprised Kira. It was more like Lacus believed Athrun to be a very dear friend instead of her fiancée.

But the image of Athrun visiting Lacus with a dozen Haros in his arms brought a smile to Kira's face. His smile widened as he imagined Lacus accepting the gifts, with even more of the things surrounding the pair. He chuckled when he imagined how Chris would react to being in the middle of the swarm.

"I guess Athrun hasn't changed much since our Lunar Prep School days..." Kira said. "I'm lucky I still have Birdy, the pet robot bird that he made for me way back when."

"Oh, really? Athrun was the one who made your pet robot, as well?" Lacus asked, smiling brightly.

"Haro. Birdy. Haro. Damn it," Haro said. The very small part of Kira not dedicated to piloting and to the girl right in front of him vaguely suspected that Haro might have been jealous upon learning that he wasn't Athrun's first creation.

"But now... we're..." Kira trailed off.

"That's what makes this all so sad... I just wish this war could end," Lacus said.

Kira looked at Lacus. "Yeah... Same goes for me..."

* * *

The _Vesalius_' Bridge

"The main problem is that Miss Clyne is on board that ship," Rau said, discussing the battle group's next move with Diana Kessel. "However, we cannot allow them to reach the rest of the Earth Alliance Forces."

_"It might not be a real problem,"_ Diana replied over the communication line. _"We could attempt a commando operation on the legged ship to rescue Miss Clyne. If all goes well, we may even capture the ship and its mobile suits."_

Rau considered the possibilities for the moment. One one hand, was if they succeeded. If the Alaric Team rescued Miss Clyne, regardless of what happened to the legged ship, they would be lauded as ZAFT's heroes, while he would be reduced to nothing more than an object of ridicule. On the other hand, if they failed, it would work out well for him and Patrick Zala, all the more if Diana Kessel and Lacus Clyne were killed during the raid.

A proximity alarm blared throughout the bridge, jolting Rau out of his thoughts.

"Sir! We have two incoming mobile suits!" the sensors officer said.

"What? Identify them! Now!" Ades shouted.

"Confirming IDs... It's the X105 and the X302!" the officer replied.

"We're being hailed," the communications officer announced.

"Don't open fire," Rau ordered on the fleet-wide channel. "Patch that through. Let's at least hear what they have to say."

_"ZAFT vessels, this is the pilot of the X105 Strike. Do not open fire. I have Miss Lacus Clyne on board,"_ the pilot said. Considering his situation, he was actually very calm and level. _"I am handing Miss Clyne over in exchange for a temporary cease-fire. The X302 Raven is simply an escort, and will not open hostilities as well, unless provoked. Power down your weapons and engines, and send out the X303 Aegis, and the X209 Sentinel, along with their pilots, to receive Miss Clyne."_

Rau thought it over for a split second before nodding. "Very well. We will send out the Aegis and the Sentinel."

Le Creuset raised a hand, and the communication was cut, before it was replaced by the line to the pilot ready-room.

"You heard him, Athrun, Leon," Rau said. "Launch and receive Miss Clyne. Afterwards, return and we will leave this sector."

_"Commander Le Creuset! Wait! Allow me to deploy in one of the machines instead!"_ Zane said, nearly pleaded.

Rau was, frankly, surprised by Zane wanting to volunteer. The pilot had no interest in Lacus Clyne, and only wanted to get another shot at those machines, particularly the Raven, that had outlasted him in their first encounter. If a battle broke out, the chances of Miss Clyne getting caught in the crossfire was incredibly high. If anything went wrong, with the entirety of the Alaric Team present as witnesses, not even Patrick Zala could save him.

"Denied, Scirocco. They requested Athrun and Leon. They're already doing _us_ quite a big favor, so the least we could do is comply with their request."

* * *

The _Vesalius_' Hangar

Zane watched as the Sentinel launched, followed by the Aegis. He clenched his fist and grit his teeth. He couldn't - he wouldn't - let this chance simply slip through his grasp!

"What's the status of my CGUE? Have you mounted the thermal cannon yet?" Zane demanded.

"Well, we've already mounted the cannon and connected it to the main battery to power it. The control settings have also been adjusted to suit the cannon's weight, recoil, and heat emissions. We're starting the calibration process for the targeting system right now," his mechanic replied.

"Forget the calibrations. I'll do it myself. Just get my CGUE on the catapult."

"Sir?"

"You heard me, didn't you? Just get everything ready and prepped for launch. I'm heading out there!" Zane said as he kicked off the ground, floating towards his CGUE's open cockpit.

_'Let's end this... here and now!'_

* * *

Somewhere out in space

The Aegis and Sentinel slowed to a stop, as did the Strike and Raven. Kira aimed the Strike's beam rifle at the Aegis as the Sentinel's right arm Ouroboros locked into combat position. Kira opened the Strike's cockpit hatch, revealing him and his passenger to the ZAFT pilots. Athrun followed Kira's example, and opened his cockpit hatch as well, before stepping out onto the extension platform that half of the hatch had turned into. A flash of light crossed Leon's senses for a brief moment, but he shook it off and opened a transmission.

_"I understand why you'd want the Aegis out here, but why ask for me as well?"_ Leon asked, feeling that the strange sense was coming from the Raven.

_"We figured, from our previous encounters, that you and the Aegis' pilot would be honorable enough to uphold your end of the bargain,"_ Chris replied. _"We're just here to return Miss Clyne, and then we're going to leave."_

"You should say something first," Kira said. "Athrun can't see your face from there, so he'll need to confirm your identity somehow..."

Lacus nodded, before turning to the Aegis' pilot. "Hello, Athrun! It's very nice to see you again!" she said as she waved.

Athrun smiled in relief. _"I confirm, it's Lacus,"_ he said over the open frequency. Leon nodded, and lowered his machine's right arm.

"Then you should get ready to receive her," Kira said, before turning to Lacus once more. "Well... this is where we part ways, Lacus..."

Lacus smiled. "Thank you, Kira. I hope we meet again, someday soon..." she said, before she turned, and, with a gentle push from Kira, floated over to the Aegis.

Athrun caught her, and smiled as he laid his eyes on Lacus' features.

_"Hello, Athrun,"_ the pink-haired diva said. _"I missed you so much!"_

_"Lacus... thank goodness you're safe..."_ Athrun replied, before turning to the Strike and Raven.

_"Kira! You and your friend in the Raven should come with us!"_ he shouted. _"There's no reason for either of you to remain with the Earth Forces! If you don't, I'll have no choice but to kill you!"_

Kira grit his teeth. "How many times must I say it...?" he said. "I don't want to fight you, either!"

_"Our friends and family are on that ship!"_ Chris said. _"And we've sworn to protect them with our lives!"_

_"So that's your answer?"_ Athrun asked, his voice full of his resolve. _"Then, the next time we meet, I'll shoot you at will!"_

"As will I!" Kira replied, equally determined.

Before anyone else could move, an unexpected new voice spoke, as Chris and Leon both felt flashes of light flicker through their minds. Leon's eyes narrowed, while Chris' eyes widened. Nonetheless, they did one similar movement: both punched their throttles into gear, and quickly boosted aside.

_"CHRIS!"_

A beam lanced through space, passing through where the Sentinel and Raven had been floating a split-second before. Everyone looked at the source to see the blood-red CGUE from earlier. Its destroyed railgun was gone, to be replaced by a type of beam weapon. But the weapon wasn't what shocked Chris. That voice that shouted at him... he _knew_ that voice!

* * *

_Flashback_

_Junius Seven, C.E. 65_

_Chris walked up to the battered boy lying on the ground. "You okay?" he asked, kneeling down._

_"Yeah…" the boy said. "You didn't have to help me, though."_

_"True. But it was three against one and I wasn't about to let a bunch of spineless weasels beat somebody up," he replied, extending his hand. "Here."_

_The boy took his hand and Chris helped him get back up to his feet. The boy was in pretty rough shape. He had a number of bruises and cuts but nothing appeared to be broken. "C'mon, I'll take you to my parents. They're doctors," he said, helping the injured boy walk. "My name's Chris, Chris Dante. It's nice to meet you. What's your name?"_

_"Me? I'm Zane Scirocco..."_

* * *

"It can't be..." Chris whispered.

_"It's been a long while... Chris..."_ Zane said, aiming his CGUE's thermal cannon at the Raven.

Chris felt his blood run cold. "But... how... Junius Seven was..."

_"Isn't it obvious?"_ Zane asked with an amused voice. _"Like you, I wasn't there. Now, answer me. Why are you fighting for the same people who destroyed our home? Why, Chris? Why are you fighting for the Naturals?"_

Chris shook his head in disbelief. This didn't sound like the Zane he knew. He was... different. The old Zane was a pacifist in all forms who denounced all forms of violence and aggression.

"Zane... what happened...?" Chris asked. "You weren't like this before... You hated the very idea of war, so why are you a pilot for ZAFT now?"

_"The old Zane... died with Junius Seven..."_ his former friend replied. _"Now, he has nothing left... but his skills as a soldier... Chris! Prepare yourself!"_

Zane fired the thermal cannon once more, but the shot went wide off the mark. "Dammit!" he cursed as he further calibrated its targeting system. "You stupid weapon, can't you even aim right?"

Chris brought his railgun to bear, but he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. He just couldn't do it, not after learning that it was his old friend Zane Scirocco at the controls.

Zane, however, was more than able to fire. He prepared his weapon to fire again, but, before he could fire, he was interrupted by Lacus Clyne.

_"Stop this at once!"_ she shouted. _"Are you trying to start a battle in the presence of a War Memorial Representative such as myself?"_

"Are you joking? For your information, this is _war_!" Zane replied. "There are no rules besides 'Kill or be killed' out here! And, unfortunately for you, the bloodshed won't stop until one side is completely wiped out! The fighting isn't going to end just because some pink-haired pop star says she wants it to be so!"

Zane did not hesitate to pull the trigger, but a sudden pull jolted him out of alignment. His shot lanced out into empty space, harming nothing.

"Damn, what the hell?" he shouted, but froze as he came face-to-face with the Sentinel, its inhuman crimson eyes flashing as if to mimic the will of its pilot. Its left arm's Ouroboros was latched onto the CGUE's right shoulder, preventing it from using its thermal cannon.

"Zane, cease hostilities at once!"Leon said as the Sentinel's other Ouroboros claw locked into combat position, its plasma cannon coming to life. The right arm dropped down to the middle area of its torso and hovered there, mere inches away from the cockpit. "What you said is true - this is war, and a single mistake can cost us our lives. But fighting with nothing more than the intent to kill does not make us soldiers! It simply turns us into murderers! ZAFT's aim is to defend the PLANTs, not to exterminate every single Natural!"

_"What the hell do you know, Vanyel?"_ Zane shouted. _"You haven't seen what I have! Stop being so self-righteous!"_

"You'd be surprised at what I know, _Scirocco_. I don't think you've experienced what I have, nor have you even begun to suffer as much as I have," Leon replied in a frosty tone that could rival the most merciless of glaciers. But, what truly struck fear into Zane, and even Athrun, was the sight of Leon's molten red right iris. It burned with the promise of pain, and both pilots were sure he would follow through on a promise such as that.

"Now, stand down before I have to get my hands dirty pulling the trigger," Leon continued. "If you don't want to spend the night in the medic bay or a body bag, you'll do as I say. Because I _will_ fire if you persist."

_"Zane, that's enough. You've already disobeyed my orders, and nearly put a civilian - a War Memorial Representative, of all people - in the line of fire. Power down your weapons and return to the ship at once,"_ Rau commanded.

_"But, Commander..."_

_"Return _now_, Zane. Do not make me repeat myself, unless you want your punishment to be worse."_

With the Sentinel's Ouroboros in place to punch a hole through his CGUE, and him, Zane reluctantly complied with Commander Le Creuset's orders. As soon as Leon confirmed the power-down status of the thermal cannon, he released Zane, allowing him to make his way back to the ship.

The Sentinel faced the Strike and the Raven, its Ouroboros setting itself once more into deactive form.

"I'm sorry about that," Leon said. "You should return to your ship now. You have our gratitude for returning Miss Clyne, and a deal is a deal. We will let you go in peace. However, that doesn't mean we'll be going easy on you the next time we meet in battle."

_"Kira..."_ Athrun said quietly. _"I know we're enemies... but just try to keep yourself alive..."_

With that, the Aegis retreated back to the _Vesalius_, Lacus safely on board.

As the Sentinel turned to follow, Kira spoke up. _"Wait!"_

The Sentinel turned midway, just enough for the camera to place the two mobile suits in view.

"Yes?" Leon asked.

_"I just wanted to say that... even if I don't know you by name, I wish we could have met under different circumstances..."_ Kira said.

Leon smiled slightly at that. There was something about them he couldn't place. There was honesty and strength behind those words.

"I see... but you should kill those sentiments now..." he replied. "Or you're going to get someone killed one of these days..."

Leaving the two pilots with those words, Leon turned and followed the Aegis home.

Chris piloted the Raven back to the _Archangel_ in grim silence. He said nothing as he entered the hangar. He said nothing as armed guards pulled him from the cockpit, and said nothing as he was thrown into the brig.

All his thoughts were focused on Zane. Chris couldn't believe how far he had fallen into sorrow, which had already long transformed into bitter anger and hatred. He'd turned his back on everything he once stood for, becoming a soldier who knew nothing and had nothing but life on the battlefield.

Chris blinked back tears and clenched a fist, as he wondered if he could ever bring Zane back to his old self.

* * *

The _Vesalius_' Pilot Ready Room

Leon Vanyel closed his locker, having replaced his pilot suit with his uniform. As he walked out, he felt, and saw, the furious stare of Zane Scirocco, still in his pilot suit. The man looked ready to kill, but was keeping a very fragile hold on his temper. It was good he did, because Leon was fighting just as hard to hold back the urge to beat Zane to a bloody pulp.

Just before he passed through the door, a flash passed through his senses, and he tensed as the door opened to reveal Falkner Grey on the other side. Without a word, the man passed Leon by and proceeded into the room, presumably to pick up Zane and take him to Rau's office.

Leon quickly walked out into the hallway, where Athrun was waiting for him. The two nodded, before turning and walking towards their quarters. The trip was uncomfortably silent - for Athrun, at least - until Leon decided to break the spell.

"You look like you've been itching to say something..." Leon said, his voice back to its normal tone instead of the cold tone he had used earlier in the day.

Athrun wanted to bring up the point about Leon's eye, but decided to save it for another time, when they were sure there were no ears listening.

"I just wanted to say thanks for defusing that situation earlier," he said. "But, I want you to be careful around Zane for a while. The guy's not going to forget this so quickly. He'll stab you in the back if you aren't careful."

Leon nodded. "I'll keep that in mind..." he replied. "But, right now I'm more worried about you."

"Me?" Athrun asked.

"Yes, you," Leon said. "Can you truly follow through on what you said? Can you really bring yourself to shoot down the Strike?"

Athrun's expression turned glum, not bothering to reply, yet the silence told Leon everything.

The golden-brown-haired teen closed his eyes and sighed. "I thought so..." he said, opening his eyes once more. There was a melancholic look in them that did not go unnoticed by Athrun. "Listen, Athrun... if you don't have the heart to do it, then you should stop right now. Otherwise, you're going to get yourself or an ally killed someday."

Athrun nodded. "I'll fight... If I can help it, I'll shoot him down without killing him..." he replied. "But, if there's no other option... _I'll kill him_."

Leon's eyes grew more sorrowful upon hearing the resolve in Athrun's voice. "I see... if that's the case... I only hope you'll make the right choice when the time comes..."

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, that's the latest chapter. We get to see a slightly different Zane, and I do plan for him to be more humane than the original.**

**Also, this chapter goes a little bit more into Leon's personality. He hints at some terrible tragedies in the past, but what they just are, we will have to wait and see. And just what was that transformation that occured during the battle?**

**The battle is different enough to be considered unique, and I hope it was to everyone's liking.**

**Anyway, the next chapter will be the last chapter in space before the long period on Earth begins.**

**Please leave a review! Ja ne, minna! ^^**

* * *

**Diverging Roads** Mecha Spec Page

_"It's faster than lightning, with armor as weak as paper. It takes a special kind of crazy to fly one of these things. Luckily for us, we have three willing pilots who really are crazy enough to jump in them. There's no way in hell anyone else would pilot those flying coffins."_ - Ajay Cortez on the "Speartip" variant

**ZGMF-1017MX GINN High Maneuver Type Custom "Speartip"  
**Description:  
This suit is a variant of the GINN High Maneuver Type Custom. The model itself has sacrificed much of its armor and durability for a larger battery and unrivalled speeds and maneuverability. Only three units of this type were made, and were assigned to the high-speed attack "Speartip" unit of the Alaric Team. The three-pilot team is composed of Hilda Harken, Mars Simeon, and Herbert von Reinhardt. Its speed is its greatest asset, but the drawbacks of its severely weakened armor were seen first-hand, when a stray shot severely damaged Unit 01, leaving Hilda without her right eye.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-1017MX  
**Code Name:** GINN High Maneuver Type Custom"Speartip"  
**Unit Type:** high-mobility mobile suit**  
Manufacturer:** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)**  
Operator(s):** ZAFT**  
First Deployment:** C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** overall height 21.13 meters**  
Weight:** max gross weight 71.38 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** unknown**  
Power Plant:** ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown**  
Design Features:** sensors, range unknown; lightwave pulse thrusters  
**Fixed Armaments:** MA-M3 heavy sword, stored on waist, hand-carried in use  
**Optional Hand Armaments:** MMI-M8A3 76mm heavy assault machine gun (Hilda)  
M69 "Barrus" heavy ion cannon (Mars)  
M68 "Cattus" 500mm recoilless rifle (Herbert)  
**Pilot(s):** Hilda Harken (Unit 01), Mars Simeon (Unit 02), Herbert von Reinhardt (Unit 03)

**Appearance:** The GINN High Maneuver Type Custom "Speartip" resembles the normal GINN High Maneuver Type, like all other GINN HM Type Customs.**  
Colors:** Black torso, arms, feet, and head. Everything else is dark purple. A black star outlined in white is emblazoned on each machine's right shoulder, with the unit number on its left shoulder.**  
Notes:** I don't need to say any more about them. Anyone should recognize the pilots if they've watched SEED Destiny. I only included the Speartip variant's specifications because they're the only ones who actually contributed a significant impact in the battles where the Alaric Team has participated, i.e. they were actually mentioned for a good period of time.

_"Well, time to finally even the odds... I better thank the kid when we get back!"_ - Mu La Flaga just before opening up on the Buster with his new gunbarrels

**TS-MA2mod.00+X04 Moebius Zero Striker  
**Description:  
The Moebius Zero was developed to counter ZAFT's superior mobile suits, the GINN. All but one were eliminated at the Endymion Crater, with the pilot being famed Earth Forces ace Mu La Flaga. With the development of the G-Units, Mu's Moebius Zero has also begun to fall behind in terms of performance. To counteract this, Kira Yamato and Chief Murdoch replace the Zero's gunbarrels with those from the Gunbarrel Striker, giving the Zero a boost in performance and allowing it to stand on equal footing even against the stolen G-Weapons.

**Model Number:** TS-MA2mod.00+E-X04  
**Code Name:** Moebius Zero Striker**  
Unit Type:** customized prototype mobile armor**  
Manufacturer:** Earth Alliance (Atlantic Federation)**  
Operator(s):** Earth Alliance (Atlantic Federation)**  
First Deployment:** unknown**  
Accommodation:** pilot only, in standard cockpit**  
Dimensions:** unknown**  
Weight:** unknown**  
Armor Materials:** unknown**  
Power Plant:** ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown**  
Design Features:** sensors, range unknown  
**Fixed Armaments:** Linear gun, mounted below main body  
**Remote Weapons:** 4 x Gunbarrel pods (includes 4 x GAU-758S beam gun; 8 x M70AMSAT missile), can be detached and controlled through wires connected to main body  
**Pilot:** Mu La Flaga

**Appearance:** Looks like a regular Moebius Zero but with slightly bigger gunbarrels.**  
Colors:** Same as the regular Moebius Zero**  
Notes:** A custom Moebius Zero I developed for Mu. It seemed unfair how he was normally outmatched in the beginning with the Zero. The only things that really save him are his experience and the fact that his gunbarrels are annoying opponents. So, I decided to balance it all out and make his Zero a _threat_ by replacing the outdated gunbarrels with those from the Gunbarrel Striker Pack.

"_I don't care if you _are_ the best ZAFT has to offer, I won't let you sink the _Archangel_!"_ – Elizabeth "Liz" Dante, just before engaging members of ZAFT's Alaric Team

**GAT-X308 Guardian Gundam:  
**Description:  
One of four prototype Earth Alliance mobile suits produced by Morgenroete to escape capture by ZAFT forces at Heliopolis. This winged mobile suit is designed to transform into a fighter-like mobile armor, an assault unit intended to work in tandem with the Raven's support mobile armor platform. In this form, it can fly in an atmosphere, and tear through enemies at close range with its wing beam blades, and it possesses formidable firepower in either form. Escaping capture due to its incomplete nature, the Guardian is completed after the _Archangel_'s escape from Artemis, and is immediately assigned to civilian Coordinator recruit Elizabeth Dante.

**Model Number:** GAT-X308  
**Code Name:** Guardian Gundam  
**Unit Type:** prototype attack use transformable mobile suit  
**Manufacturer:** Morgenroete, Inc.  
**Operator(s):** Earth Alliance (Atlantic Federation)  
**First Deployment:** January 25, C.E. 71  
**Accommodation:** pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso  
**Dimensions:** overall height 18.65 meters  
**Weight:** max gross weight 62.31 metric tons  
**Armor Materials:** unknown  
**Power Plant:** ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown  
**Design Features:** sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) armor  
**Fixed armaments:** 2 x "Igelstellung" multi-barrel CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head  
2 x beam saber, mounted on hips, hand-carried in use, sabers double as fire-linked beam guns in mobile armor mode  
2 x 2-tube 127mm grenade launcher, mounted in forearms  
2 x beam blade, mounted on mobile wings, operable only in mobile armor mode  
Anti-beam shield, mounted on left arm, mounts on nose in mobile armor mode**  
Optional hand armaments:** 86mm hyper-impulse beam rifle, power rating unknown, mounts under nose in mobile armor mode  
**Pilot:** Elizabeth Dante

**Appearance:** Its appearance is identical to the Zeta Gundam, but with the shield and wings of the Wing Gundam.  
**Color:** Dark purple head, torso, shoulders, forearms and shins. White biceps and thighs. Gold trim, head crest spikes and V crest.**  
Notes:** A Gundam design I honestly fell in love with the moment I saw it in Maileesaeya's _Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Dauntless_. It's a mobile suit that's based off a combination of the Zeta and Wing/Wing Zero Gundams. Ultimately, it's got many things going for it: the speed and mobility of being a transformable, aerodynamic mobile suit, and the firepower that it possesses. Seriously, I like this bad boy's armaments. Many thanks to Maileesaeya for allowing me to borrow it.

_"All traitors deserve only one thing: death."_ - Zane Scirocco's 'judgment' on the pilots of the Strike and the Raven

**ZGMF-515 CGUE Assault (Scirocco Custom)  
**Description:  
The personal machine of Zane Scirocco, Rau Le Creuset's protégé, and Falkner Grey's right hand. There is little difference between Zane's CGUE and a standard CGUE, outside of the Assault upgrade being permanently integrated into the machine. Its right shoulder was originally armed with a variation of the "Shiva" railgun, but after the capture of the Earth Forces prototype Gundams, Zane has the railgun replaced with the experimental—and still low power—thermal energy cannon based on the beam weapons of the stolen prototypes.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-515  
**Code Name:** CGUE Assault Shroud (Scirocco Custom)**  
Unit Type:** customized commander type mobile suit**  
Manufacturer:** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)**  
Operator(s):** ZAFT**  
First Deployment:** C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** overall height 21.43 meters**  
Weight:** max gross weight 118.59 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** unknown**  
Power Plant:** ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown**  
Design Features:** sensors, range unknown; high-output vernier thrusters  
**Fixed Armaments:** JDP6-MSY0160 directed thermal energy cannon, mounted on right shoulder  
MA-M4A heavy sword, stored on back, hand-carried in use  
M7070 shield-plus-vulcan system, mounted on left arm  
2 x M68 "Pardus" 3-barrel missile launcher, mounted on legs  
**Optional Hand Armaments:** JDP2-MMX22 experimental 22mm armor assault rifle, mounts MA-M3 heavy sword as bayonet  
**Pilot:** Zane Scirocco

**Appearance:** Looks like a CGUE, with the Assault Shroud armor over the basic suit. The railgun/thermal energy cannon is mounted in the same way that the Tallgeese's dobergun is.**  
Colors:** Entirely blood red, with black joints**  
Notes:** Zane Scirocco's custom mobile suit, borrowed (with some slight editing) from **Maileesaeya**. Credits to her for most of the suit. All I really did with this suit was replace the machine gun with the armor assault rifle used by the GINN High Maneuver Type and switched the Assault Shroud missile pod for the GINN's leg-mounted Pardus. With another sword on the bayonet stud, this gives Zane's CGUE two melee weapons to work with.

_"Allow me to show you... that the man with the better mobile suit won't always win!"_ - Falkner Grey, as he engages the _Archangel_'s prototype mobile suits

**ZGMF-515AS CGUE Assault (Grey Custom)  
**Description:  
The personal machine of Falkner Grey, an elite pilot who was formerly Rau Le Creuset's protégé, but now serves as a member of Rau's extended command influence. There is little difference between Falkner's CGUE Assault and a standard CGUE Assault, outside of the adjustments and upgrades to its armaments, and the high-output pulse thrusters. Aside from the minor modifications, much of Falkner's success is due to his piloting skills, which become exemplified when he goes up against the Earth Alliance's prototype Gundams.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-515AS  
**Code Name:** CGUE Assault (Grey Custom)**  
Unit Type:** commander type mobile suit**  
Manufacturer:** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)**  
Operator(s):** ZAFT**  
First Deployment:** C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** overall height 21.43 meters**  
Weight:** max gross weight 80.22 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** unknown**  
Power Plant:** ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown**  
Design Features:** sensors, range unknown; high-output pulse thrusters  
**Fixed Armaments:** 2 x MA-M4A heavy sword, stored on hips, hand-carried in use  
2 x M7072 shield-plus-double vulcan system, mounted on arms  
**Optional Fixed Armaments:** 2 x shoulder shield, mounts dual gatling guns  
**Optional Hand Armaments:** MMI-M9S 76mm heavy assault machine gun  
**Pilot:** Falkner Grey

**Appearance:** Basic appearance is the same as the CGUE Assault's.**  
Colors:** Lavender body with white trim. A large white diagonal stripe on the arm-mounted shields, two thin white stripes on either forearm, a dark blue soaring falcon on the left shoulder, and a white cross on the right shoulder.**  
Notes:** Falkner's custom suit doesn't have a stunning number of upgrades, but it does go a longer way than many other mass-produced mobile suits. Its main asset is its speed and maneuverability, allowing it to perform high-speed attacks on enemy formations with a hail of machine gun fire, or melee combat with its twin swords. The double vulcan rifles on the shields were inspired by the Heavyarms Kai (TV Version), and I thought it would go nicely with a CGUE. Over-all, although not as heavily-armed as Zane's CGUE is, Falkner's skills combined with his high-performance CGUE can put even the Gundams on edge.


	9. Phase 9: Stars Falling in Space

**Well, let's get this under way. I'll simply write the Trial according to how the novelization went, for the most part. It's still slightly different, but not by TOO much.**

**I'm not TOO mindful of the lack of response, because it's not TOO big of a deal to me (as opposed to some). I'm writing this for my own enjoyment. That's all. Though I would be lying if I said that I didn't appreciate those who do put in a little effort to give me their two cents. I really do. They make me want to keep writing just that little bit more.**

**Well, there's also the shameless (if somewhat selfish) part of me that wishes to change some of the things that happened in canon. I WILL make it happen. The main changes are bound to happen while they're on Earth, so please be patient with me and continue to read each chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gundam Seed. I own the OCs Leon Vanyel, Falkner Grey, and Tomoyo Asahara. I also own the Sentinel Gundam, Falkner's CGUE, and Tomoyo's GINN Assault Type. The Raven Gundam, the Surge Gundam, and all other OCs belong to Akatsuki Leader13. The Guardian Gundam and Zane Scirocco's CGUE are Maileesaeya's property.**

* * *

Phase Nine: Stars Falling in Space

February 11, C.E. 71

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Brig

Chris opened his eyes as he heard the door to the brig slide open. Raising himself up from where he lay on the cot, he regarded the redheaded girl that approached his cell.

"Hello, Flay," he greeted simply, taking in her appearance as he lay back down. If anything, she looked even worse than before. Her hair was unkept, and her eyes had grown red and puffy from the non-stop crying she had most likely been doing during his and Kira's little unauthorized escapade.

"How...?" she whispered. Upon Chris replying with merely a raised eyebrow, she continued in a desperate voice. "How do you make it go away?"

"It depends on what it is that you want to go away."

"This pain, Chris!" Flay shouted as she gripped the bars tightly. "This... this pain that won't stop eating at me! I just want it... to go away..." she trailed off as she collapsed, her posture one of utter defeat.

Chris simply stared at the ceiling, searching for the best way he could phrase his answer. It was a few silent moments before he spoke.

"Well... the pain never truly goes away..." he finally said. "There will never be a time when pain like this will simply disappear. All you can do is use those emotions, or let yourself be consumed by them. If you choose to ignore it, then it _will_ eventually destroy you from within. Dealing with them doesn't really make it any better. It just slows down the process. The only way you can really deal with the anger, the hate the sorrow, the pain, and everything in between... is to harness them and use them for something other than pointless vengeance. My... grandfather taught me that after Junius Seven was..."

Flay looked up. "How... do I do that...?"

Chris shrugged. "That's up to you. For example, I put mine into my martial arts training and playing my guitar. I guess you can add 'protecting the _Archangel_' to that list, too. All you need is something to dedicate your time and your efforts to."

"Could... you teach me?" she asked.

"Teach you what?"

"How to play the guitar... your skills in martial arts... _anything_!" Flay said, agitated. "I just want to feel something besides this hollow pain that won't go away!"

Chris leveled a look at her, and saw the sincerity of her request. She _wanted_ this. He sighed, his mind made up.

"Alright," he said. "When I'm released, I'll teach you... only if you obey my instructions to the letter. Until then... just hang on, okay?"

Flay nodded meekly before departing, leaving Chris alone once more.

"So, does she seem any worse for the wear?" Kira asked from his cell, where he had been silently listening to the conversation.

Chris sighed. "Well, she's still definitely on the side of sanity. Hopefully, what I'm going to teach her will help snap her out of this funk and put her back on track."

Kira nodded. "I hope so..." he said. "But let's not get too ahead of ourselves... we need to be released first."

* * *

_Archangel_ Captain's Office

"The defendants fail to understand just how much their actions have endangered this ship," Natarle said.

"Your Honor, that statement is a gross exaggeration. I ask that it be stricken from the record," Mu said.

"I authorize its omission," Murrue replied.

"All right, let's see..." Mu murmured, scanning the military law book he held in his hands. "First off, I believe that taking civilians as hostages goes against Article 4 of the Corsica Treaty."

"The actions taken fall under Exception Section C of the same article," Natarle replied.

"Eh? Section C, Section C... Ah, here it is..." Mu said, frantically flipping through the book's pages. "Well, in retrospect, ZAFT _did_ withdraw eventually, and their warships did not pursue us after the exchange."

"Yes, but it could have ended very differently," Ensign Badgiruel replied. "The Raven was nearly damaged several times, and both units could have easily been captured or destroyed by that CGUE had the Sentinel not interfered."

_'Damn... they make it sound like Kira and I were out on a joyride...'_ Chris thought.

Murrue mulled over those statements, before looking up at the two pilots. "Kira Yamato and Christopher Dante, is there anything either of you would like to say in your defense?"

Kira shook his head. "We accept full responsibility for our actions," he said defiantly.

"All we ask is that you spare everyone else from punishment. We will accept any sentence you have prepared for us," Chris added, with Kira nodding his head in agreement.

"Kira Yamato and Christopher Dante, your actions were in violation of Article 3, Section B, in violation of Article 10, Section F, and in violation of Article 13, Section C of military law. In accordance with military law, I have no choice but to sentence you to death."

The two pilots sat there, dumbstruck. Death? That was _definitely_ something that they weren't expecting. They figured that they would be locked up in the brig for a couple of weeks, or be reduced to something like cleaning toilets. They weren't prepared for something as overboard as execution.

"However, this sentence would only apply to those under court martial," Murrue added. "Military law has no provision on civilians. Therefore, I call upon the defendants to consider their actions more carefully from now on. Court is adjourned."

Chris let out a sigh of relief. "Damn... you guys really scared me for a minute there..." he said.

Kira turned to Mu, giving the older man a smile. "Remind me never to hire you for legal matters ever again, Lieutenant..." he said bemusedly.

"Then don't go around disobeying orders again," Mu said with a grin as he tossed the book away and let it float off in the zero-gravity environment. "Because I won't defend you next time, either."

Kira and Chris chuckled as they left Murrue's office. Outside, Sai, Miriallia, Tolle, and Liz were waiting for them.

"Well?" came the unspoken message their expressions all said.

"They let us off with a warning."

"What? _That's it_?" Liz shouted in a mix of disbelief and slight anger. "We get stuck with latrine duty for helping you guys out, and all they give you is a _warning_?"

"Well, I guess it sucks to be you guys right now," Chris replied nonchalantly.

"Hey, hey, hold on, brother," Liz said. "Isn't this the time when you say 'I'm sorry for getting you guys in this mess. I'll help you out.' or something like that?"

"Uh... I think you have me confused with Kira over here," Chris said, gently pushing Kira forward. "I'm not as selfless as you think. You guys can go scrub those toilets."

Liz punched him. Hard.

"Ow... what the hell was that for?" he asked, rubbing his throbbing arm.

"You don't need to ask to know what that was for!" Liz replied. "And you better not screw around again, because I'm getting a food tray next time!"

Kira chuckled nervously. "Chris, I suggest we help them out, because I don't want to have to see you back in Orb riding a wheel chair. Or worse."

* * *

The _Vesalius_

Leon silently stared out the view port of the _Nazca_-class destroyer he'd spent the better part of over a month on. They had just made contact with the Laconi Team, and Miss Clyne was being transferred over at the very moment. Athrun was overseeing that, and had been looking after Lacus ever since she had come on board. Thanks to her presence, he'd been able to spend the last day and a half thinking on a few topics of interest without any interruptions.

The first thing Leon was wondering about was Athrun. He couldn't shake the feeling that his teammate was still hiding something, but he decided not to press Athrun. He'd talk when he was ready. Leon was more concerned about the strange sensations that have been growing more and more frequent as of late. What they were, he couldn't answer. What he did know was that every time he felt these sensations, he could seemingly perceive _everything_ for just a brief moment. It seemed almost... mystical, and thinking about it simply brought him more questions.

He was also curious about what he'd heard from the Commander. According to Rau, the Laconi Team was also bringing over a new pilot for the Le Creuset Team, bringing them back up to full operational capacity. For all he knew, they'd probably start with a tour of the ship and all those ridiculous, unnecessary formalities...

_"Leon Vanyel to the bridge,"_ the intercom suddenly blared. _"I repeat, Leon Vanyel to the bridge."_

The red coat sighed. "Speak of the devil..." he muttered, before rushing towards the lift. Thankfully, it was quite close, and ready for use.

_'Pays to be punctual... it _always_ leaves a good impression...'_ he thought, an amused grin blossoming on his face as he hit the switch to close the doors and send the lift to the bridge.

In the short trip between the main corridor and the bridge, Leon briefly wondered what the new pilot would be like. A veteran pilot like Commander Le Creuset or Falkner Grey? Or a recent graduate like him and the other red coats of the team? Either way, he was about to find out. The golden-brown-haired pilot tugged at a slight crease on his sleeve, returning it to its pristine condition, before settling himself into a composed state.

_'This is why... military protocol is such a pain in the ass...'_ Leon thought, his mouth twitching in slight amusement at his own thoughts, but he let his strict discipline take over as the lift's doors slid open. Putting on a schooled mask, the pilot stepped onto the bridge of the _Vesalius_... and right into a meeting between Rau and the team's new pilot. The slender figure, along with the long, flowing waist length hair, instantly screamed _'female'_. She was clad in the Red Coat of a top graduate, a clear indicator that the man who said women had no place in battle was clearly, utterly... _wrong_.

"Ah, Leon," Rau said, acknowledging his presence. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. I'd like for you to give our new pilot a tour of the _Vesalius_. I trust that won't be a problem?"

The female pilot wordlessly turned to face Leon, revealing shining blue irises the same shade as Leon's, if not slightly deeper. Her delicate features were framed by her flowing, waist length, silver-gray hair, and even her rather somber expression could not detract from her beautiful features. Leon mentally sighed. If he didn't know any better, he'd probably have said that a girl like her wasn't meant for fighting in a war, which would probably warrant an ass-kicking from the girl before him.

Pushing his thoughts aside, Leon acknowledged the newcomer with a nod. "If you please, I'll be your guide for the meantime. Please follow me."

With that, he turned and took the few steps back to the lift, hitting the switch that opened the lift doors. He beckoned the girl in first, before following in. As the lift began its trip back down, Leon finally gave her every bit of his attention.

"Leon Vanyel, pilot of the GAT-X209 Sentinel," he said, extending a hand. Courtesy was something he tried to hold to as much as possible.

The girl reached her hand out. As she took hold of Leon's outstretched hand, she tensed up for a split-second, but she quickly relaxed as she slid her hand into Leon's grip. A slight smile crossed her face as she shook the golden-brown-haired pilot's hand. Leon blinked, caught off-guard by how just that slight smile gave off a sort of angelic radiance that you would see in only one out of a hundred females.

"My name is Tomoyo Asahara..." she said. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Vanyel."

Leon nodded upon hearing the name of the lethal beauty. "Well, Miss Asahara... Leon will be fine," he replied. Truth be told, Leon was, whenever he wasn't in a mission briefing or with any important personages, a very casual and direct person. Being addressed formally was something he found far too stiff for his own sanity.

"I see... Leon... yes, I think I like that better. In that case, Tomoyo would be fine as well," the silver-gray-haired red coat replied. The lift opened, and the pair stepped out into the main hallway.

"Hm... now, where should we start?" Leon asked himself, finally realizing that he didn't have the foggiest idea on how to give someone a tour of a warship.

_'Damn... what sponge-brained barge-driver thought that it should be standard procedure to give a new crew member a tour of the _entire_ god-forsaken ship?'_

* * *

"Well, I guess we've gone through pretty much everything," Leon said, brushing a few locks of hair from his eyes. It had taken him around half an hour to do so, but he'd managed to fumble his way through the entire thing without making himself look like a complete idiot.

Tomoyo gave a small smile. "Thank you for your company..." she said. "I think I should be heading to my quarters now..."

Leon nodded. "In that case, allow me to escort you there," he said, falling into step with the female pilot. The route Tomoyo led him through was something that seemed familiar, though he couldn't exactly explain why. Tomoyo stopped walking...

Right in front of the door adjacent to Leon's quarters. Tomoyo looked at the door across hers and saw the names on it:

_Athrun Zala_

_Leon Vanyel_

She looked down slightly, her hands behind her back. "It appears that... we're going to be neighbors on the ship..." she replied. "I hope we can work well together..."

With that said, she disappeared into her quarters, leaving Leon alone in the corridor.

He looked at the door Tomoyo had disappeared into, and frowned slightly. "I guess so... Tomoyo Asahara..." he said to no one in particular as he turned and strolled down the hallway, taking only one more glance at the door from the corner of his eye.

_'Tomoyo Asahara, huh...?'_ he thought, thinking back on the team's new member. _'I wonder... what do you truly hide underneath that quiet exterior...? And why is it that... your presence seems so... familiar...?'_

* * *

The _Gamow_

"While it _is_ possible to catch up to the them, by the time we do, we'll only have ten minutes until we're in firing range of the Earth Forces' Lunar Fleet," Nicol said, intently studying the tactical board he and the rest of the pilots had gathered around.

"You mean we'll have a full ten minutes," Dearka replied.

"I suggest cowards keep their traps shut," Yzak said.

"Shut up and think first, Yzak," Saul said. "I'm sure even you know that we won't be able to take on the legged ship, its mobile suits, _and_ the Lunar Fleet without running out of power, right? And by then, we'd be sitting ducks."

"Are there ten minutes or a _full_ ten minutes? It's all in how you look at it," Yzak smugly said. "If we have a window of opportunity to take that ship down, then we should all go and take the chance."

"I agree with Yzak. The success of a surprise attack isn't measured by the amount of time we spent on it, after all," Dearka added.

"I know what you're saying, but-"

"The _Vesalius_ and the Alaric Team will be turning back once Miss Clyne has been handed over to the Laconi Team," Yzak said, cutting Saul off. "We'll destroy the legged ship _and_ its mobile suits before they get back. Without Athrun or Leon to screw anything up, we can finish them off."

Dearka nodded. "Yeah, let's do it."

Nicol kept silent, but gave his consent. "Fine."

Saul sighed. He didn't like where this was going. "Alright," he said finally. "Let's get this operation started."

* * *

The _Archangel_

"Alright, Flay. I'm going to be teaching you some of the basics of martial arts," Chris said. "However, this is only to be used for defending yourself or someone else. If I find out that you've been beating people up, I'm going to end your instruction on the spot. Am I clear?"

Upon Flay's nod, he picked up a bag and held it out to her. "Put this on," he said, placing the bag into Flay's hands.

"But, this is a boy's uniform..." she replied.

"Yeah, I know," Chris replied as he made his way out the door to allow Flay to change. "But skirts aren't practical for what I'm going to be teaching you."

After Flay was done changing, Chris went back in. And so Flay's training began. Chris could honestly say that there were others better than her at it. There were also others much worse than she was. But she was determined. Chris would give her that much.

As they stopped to take a short break, alarms began blaring. _"All hands, to level one battlestations! I repeat..."_

Chris nodded. "Let's stop here for now. You should get back in uniform," he said. "You can practice on your own until our next chance to do this again."

"If we ever get another chance..." he said under his breath as he left.

* * *

The Gunbarrel Strike and Raven launched from the _Archangel_ first, and were quickly followed by the Guardian and the Moebius Zero Striker.

The four stolen Gundams clustered together as their Phase Shift activated, before quickly spreading apart as a pair of beams lanced out from the _Gamow_'s main guns, streaking through the space they had just occupied a few moments ago. One of the beams missed the _Archangel_, but the other beam managed to graze the ship's port side.

"Using their mobile suits to conceal their mothership's firing position. That's very cute," Mu commented. The three Gundam pilots couldn't help but agree with him. "All right, here they come. Kira, don't try to do more than you can with those gunbarrels, okay?"

_"Roger that. Good luck, Lieutenant,"_ Kira replied. Mu grinned, before he pulled the Zero into a hard turn, dodging rounds from the Buster.

"Well, time to finally even the odds... I better thank the kid when we get back!" he said as he deployed the Zero's gunbarrels and let loose on the Buster with the beam guns. The Buster jerked hard as the beams lanced out, the pilot obviously surprised by the change in armaments. Mu followed up with a salvo of missiles that streaked in at the Buster, but were shot down as Dearka used his mobile suit's anti-armor shotgun to shoot them down.

* * *

_"Nicol, we'll lure away the mobile suits and mobile armor!"_ Yzak said. _"Get the legged ship!"_

_"Roger that,"_ Nicol replied, breaking away from the formation. Yzak hit his thrusters and dove straight for the Strike. Saul activated the Surge's much more powerful thrusters and streaked in at the Raven.

Noticing the Blitz splitting off from the main battle, Liz turned the Guardian around and gave chase. Mu fired again at the Buster, trying to draw it away, but Dearka dodged, firing missiles at the Hawk of Endymion and his hyper-impulse sniper rifle at the Guardian.

"Oh no, you don't," Dearka said on the open line. "You may have new weapons, old man, but I'm not about to let either of you go after Nicol!"

"Damn, looks like he isn't phased..." Mu cursed over the comm as he shot down the Buster's missiles. "Liz, we'll have to double team the Buster and take it out quickly!"

_"Right!"_ Liz said. _"Follow me in, I'll draw his fire!"_

The Guardian hit its thrusters and closed in on the Buster, its beam guns and hyper-impulse beam rifle blazing. Dearka evaded, retaliating with the Buster's missiles, beam rifle, and gun launcher. Dearka swore when he saw the Zero's gunbarrels suddenly appear from behind the Guardian and open fire, destroying his missiles and forcing him back as the Guardian closed in and activated its beam blades.

The Buster leaned backwards, the blades harmlessly passing over it. The Buster turned and took a snap shot at the Guardian before boosting out of the way of another barrage from the Zero.

* * *

_"I've got you now, Strike!"_ Yzak shouted.

Kira narrowed his eyes at the reckless charge of the Duel. This wasn't like that first time at Artemis. No, he knew what he had gotten himself into, and he wasn't about to freeze up again.

Kira fired a shot from his beam rifle, which was intercepted by the Duel's shield, before deploying his gunbarrels and surrounding Yzak. Kira pulled the trigger and repeatedly fired missiles from two of the four gunbarrels.

Yzak fired with everything he had, destroying a few, but it left him wide open to several missiles. The Duel was thrown back, but managed to bring his shield up on time to block beam fire from one gunbarrel, before he evaded beams from another.

_"Damn you, Strike!"_ he shouted.

* * *

The Raven and Surge flew by each other, twin rail cannon slugs and beams missing their targets by the barest of margins. Saul closed in and fired the Hakenfaust at the Raven, but Chris jerked to the side before snapping a hand out and grabbing onto the tether line.

_"Oh, shi-!"_ Saul cursed over the open frequency as he was reigned in by the Raven, having been caught off-guard. The Raven's knee collided with the Surge's chest, jarring Saul and taking a good chunk out of the Surge's power supply.

"I really need to thank Kira for suggesting that trick," Chris said, chuckling as he fired as many rounds as he could into the momentarily vulnerable Surge.

* * *

Nicol evaded the two rounds fired from the legged ship's rear cannons before activating his Mirage Colloid and flipping over the entirety of the ship towards its bow, firing the whole way. As he did so, the ship's anti-beam depth charges exploded, deflecting almost all of Nicol's fired shots, while a half-dozen missiles streaked in from the ship. Nicol wasn't worried - even if they traced his general area from the source of his shots, they couldn't possibly hit the Blitz while it had its Mirage Colloid active.

That was when the warheads' outer casings fell apart and dozens of shrapnel darts launched out. Eyes widening, Nicol quickly reactivated the Blitz's Phase Shift Armor and brought his "Trikeros" up to block it.

"That's right... this machine once belonged to you..." he said. "Of course you'd know its weaknesses." As the barrage subsided, Nicol boosted in towards the _Archangel_, activating his Mirage Colloid once more.

_'I better close in this time...'_ he thought. The shrapnel itself was no threat to his Phase Shift, but the fact that using the Mirage Colloid meant deactivating his Phase Shift left his Blitz vulnerable even to solid weapons.

However, the ship's captain had anticipated the tactics he was about to use, as the CIWS guns opened up in all directions. Nicol bit back a curse and activated his Phase Shift once more, not willing to risk flying through the scattered barrage without it.

* * *

"Damn pests!" Dearka said as he fired another round of missiles at the Zero, hoping to at least get one of its gunbarrels. However, its beam guns were far too accurate, and destroyed his missile barrage with a hail of beam fire.

The Zero flew past the Buster, swinging around to let loose with another salvo of beam fire. The Buster evaded it, and was about to fire before getting badly jarred by large explosions blossoming on its side. The Guardian streaked by, having just dumped four grenades right into the Buster, and transformed into mobile suit mode.

_"You won't win!"_ Liz said as she drew a beam saber and charged the Buster. At the last second, right when the Guardian swung its saber, the Buster's right hand released its rifle and snapped up, stopping the Guardian by the wrist from moving.

Dearka smirked. He'd been waiting for this. The Buster fired a missile barrage at point-blank range, dealing a big blow to the Guardian. Liz screamed as her mobile suit was sent flying by the massive impact. Dearka pulled back and turned his attention to the Moebius Zero. He grabbed both his weapons and began trading shots with the mobile armor, beams and missiles flying both ways.

* * *

The Duel shook as it struggled to evade another missile barrage. Yzak glared down at his power readings - thirty-two percent remaining. The second barrage hadn't been as bad as the first, but from all the hits he'd taken, he was sure he wouldn't last much longer.

"Dammit, these things are annoying as hell!" Yzak shouted. At the rate this was going, he wasn't going to be getting close to the Strike any time soon, and from how things were looking, his rifle wouldn't be as useful as it had been in their last encounter.

Kira, on the other hand, was watching the Duel with a calm that belied the sweat running down his forehead. He maneuvered his gunbarrels precisely, surrounding the stolen Gundam with a hail of beam fire that slowly wore its pilot down. Even with the clear advantage he currently held, he knew that his body was slowly, but surely, approaching its own limit. A quick check of his readouts showed his own power levels to be at forty-nine percent. Just under half, but it should be enough to finish the battle.

Kira drew his gunbarrels in and holstered his rifle before drawing a beam saber and charging the off-balance Duel. The ZAFT machine managed to bring its shield up at the last second, but the advantage was still clearly in the Strike's favor.

* * *

The Surge and Raven met in a clash of weapons, two anti-armor swords against twin beam sabers in a contest for dominance. Though built for different roles, in this sort of situation the two were virtually equal in power. It all came down to the pilot at the moment, and, even then, there would be no clear victor.

"Not bad... you've gotten better since last time," Saul remarked rather mildly, almost out of place considering the time and place. "Maybe I should start stepping things up? _Before_ you get too good?"

_"Are you sure you aren't overestimating my abilities?"_ the Raven's pilot replied as the two machines broke apart and began trading shots once more.

"Well, it's hard to overestimate you, considering who you've survived encounters with... unless I'm sorely underestimating myself and the Alaric Team," Saul replied as he backed away, before activating the Surge's thrusters to propel him forward.

Saul began taking shots at the Raven as his machine literally flew circles around the Earth Forces machine, but its pilot countered by transforming the machine into its mobile armor form, leaving the two machines to run past each other in head-to-head engagements.

* * *

Nicol evaded more fire from the _Archangel_'s point defenses, before spotting an opening caused by one of the _Gamow_'s shots grazing the ship. Taking advantage, Nicol closed in with the ship, evading its weak return fire. He landed right next to its bridge tower and began firing one shot after another into the tower's laminated armor, attempting to overheat it.

After only three shots, a few burn marks had already made themselves apparent. He was making progress.

_'Just a little more...'_ Nicol thought. _'Just keep them busy a little bit longer...'_

* * *

_"Kira, Chris, Lieutenant! The Blitz is beside the bridge!"_ Miriallia's panicked voice said over the comm, drawing the attention of the _Archangel_ pilots.

_"Damn..."_ Chris swore, the Raven ducking under a swing from the Surge's long sword. _"Can one of you go and take care of it? I'm a little- guh!"_

The Raven was suddenly sent tumbling through space by a merciless kick from the Surge, interrupting Chris.

Kira pushed the Duel away, glancing towards the bridge and spotting the Blitz firing beam after beam into the slowly weakening armor.

"No!" he cried. _'If the armor fails, everyone will be...'_

The Duel took advantage of the Strike's lack of activity and charged, hoping to end it right there. At the same time, a purple seed raced through Kira's mind and shattered in a nova of brilliant light.

"The _Archangel_..." he said. "I won't let you destroy it!"

The Strike reacted with impossible speed, evading the Duel's attack and responding with its own, gouging out a hole in the Duel's armor, close to the cockpit. Without a moment's reprieve, Kira turned towards the _Archangel_ and rocketed towards the ship with everything he had.

_"Coward! Come back and fight!"_ Yzak shouted, drawing his rifle and firing at the retreating form of the Strike. His eyes widened when the Strike, its pilot almost seeming to know where the shots were before they were actually fired, dodged each and every time with perfect, almost inhuman, timing and precision.

"Stop it!" Kira shouted as he descended on the Blitz, swinging his beam saber at the black mobile suit. The Blitz jumped away from the legged ship, but was immediately followed by the Strike, which drove its knee into the Blitz's torso faster than Nicol could recognize the mobile suit being in front of him.

The Duel appeared on Kira's sensors once more, charging right for the Strike. In response, Kira sprung one of the Strike's Armor Schneiders and drove it directly into the damaged section of the Duel's armor. Without blinking, Kira deployed his gunbarrels and arrayed them against the Blitz, firing off shots that kept the mobile suit away from both the _Archangel_ and the Strike.

At that moment, a power surge within the Duel caused an explosion in the cockpit, sending shrapnel flying right into Yzak. His scream of pain was bone-chilling to the rest of the Le Creuset Team, and greatly concerned them. That was when an external explosion rocked the Duel, sending it floating away from the Strike.

* * *

"Yzak! Yzak, can you hear me?" came Nicol's worried voice.

_"It burns... it burns... IT BURNS!"_ Yzak's pained voice shouted through the comm.

"Dearka, Saul! We need to fall back! Yzak's injured, and we're out of time!" Nicol said as the Blitz grabbed hold of the Duel and rocketed towards the _Gamow_.

_"Damn... understood. Withdrawing," _Dearka said, pulling back from his battle with the Zero and the Guardian as Saul broke off from the Raven.

_"What is it with that ship and those suits...?"_ Saul asked. _"No matter how much we bring against them, they manage to beat us back every single time."_

_"Their mobile suit pilots have gotten a lot better..."_ Dearka commented. _"And now that the Hawk of Endymion's got beam weapons, it's a lot harder than last time... We'll need the _entire_ Le Creuset Team to beat them now..."_

* * *

_"Man, you were amazing, Kira!"_ Chris said as he pulled the Raven up alongside the _Archangel_.

_"Yeah, Kira, that was awesome!"_ Liz said.

_"No, 'amazing' is an understatement. It's more than that,"_ Mu said, his voice making it very easy to imagine a grin on his features. _"That performance was something else, kid. You're incredible."_

_"N-no, not really... I'm nothing special..."_ Kira replied, embarrassed at the praise being thrown his way.

_"The 8th Fleet is in visual range! Distance, 5000!"_ Jackie Tonomura said over the comm, prompting the pilots to look up. There, they saw, were countless flashing red lights as the warships that made up the Earth Forces' 8th Orbital Fleet slowly closed with the _Archangel_.

* * *

February 12, C.E. 71

The _Archangel_'s Hangar

"So, why are we in a hurry to get the Zero fixed up, again?" Kira asked, sticking his head out of the Zero's open cockpit. "We've already joined up with the 8th Fleet. We should be homefree by now!"

"I don't feel as safe if I know my own machine isn't combat-ready," Mu replied casually.

"Besides, all of the 8th Fleet's pilots are wet-behind-the-ear rookies," Murdoch added with a chuckle. "If we're attacked before we reach base, everyone will come running for the Hawk of Endymion to save them."

"By the way, what should we do about the Gund... I mean... the mobile suits?" Kira asked. "If we're leaving, we might need to change them back to their default specifications."

"Well, that's a problem right there," Chief Murdoch replied. "You do that, and that will really lower their performance."

"It won't matter much for the Raven," Chris replied as he floated over. "I've decided to stay on board this ship."

"W-what?" Kira asked, disbelief evident on his features. "You're staying?"

"Yeah," Chris replied. "My aunt's decided to stay to continue monitoring the Gundams, so I want to keep her safe. That, and... there's something I have to settle. I can't do it if I don't stay."

Chris placed his hand on Kira's shoulder. "You shouldn't feel obligated to stay if I'm staying, Kira. Do what you want to do."

"In that case, the Guardian can stay as is," Liz said as she approached. "I'm staying too."

Chris shook his head. "No, you're not," he replied adamantly. "You're going back to Orb."

"Brother..." Liz started in a sugary tone that would have diabetics crawling for mercy. As it is, it sent shivers crawling up and down everyone's spines.

Chris gulped. "Shutting up, sis." Liz simply smiled at him.

Mu locked Kira in a friendly headlock and led him away from the two siblings. "Since you're leaving, I guess I should thank you before you go," he said. "For all your hard work in protecting this ship. You really came through when we needed you the most."

The blond lieutenant suddenly looked up to see Murrue approaching. "Captain?" he asked.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Murrue said as she approached. "I just wanted to talk to Kira."

"Huh...?" Kira asked, staring at Murrue.

"I'm not here to try and convince you to stay, Kira," Murrue assured the boy. "I just want to talk."

Kira nodded and slipped out of the Lieutenant's grasp. They floated up towards the Strike, away from the rest.

"With everything that's been happening lately, I guess we haven't had the chance to talk properly," Murrue said. Facing the young pilot, she smiled. "I want to thank you properly this time."

"Uh... huh?"

"I'm well aware that I put you through quite an ordeal on board this ship," Murrue continued. "And I'm truly grateful for everything you've done for us."

With that said, Murrue bowed in respect and gratitude.

"Um... uh... What about... I mean..." he stammered, completely at a loss.

"Yes, I've already approached each one of them. But you have been the anchor of our defenses. Without you, we probably may never have made it this far. Your efforts are what kept us alive this long, and I can never express enough thanks."

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Crew Quarters

"W-what?" Miriallia cried. "You two are staying?"

Tolle, Sai, and Flay had mirrored expressions of shock and disbelief, the same that Kira had worn on his face when Chris had told him.

"Yeah. Could you turn down the volume a bit?" Chris asked.

"Chris wanted to stay, so I'm staying too," Liz said. "If I'm not around, Chris is more liable to do something stupid."

"I'm not an idiot," Chris replied in mock outrage.

"Yes, you are!" Liz said. "No matter how many times it happens, you never learn your lesson!"

The two began to fight over Chris' intelligence while the others, save Flay, looked on. Flay was deep in thought. If Chris was staying, she'd stay as well. She needed him to help her deal with the pain. She wasn't ready to deal with it on her own. She wanted - no, she _needed_ to stay.

* * *

The _Vesalius_' Bridge

"The _Gamow_ and the _Ziegler_ have arrived, bringing our task force back to full operational capacity," Rau said. "However, the legged ship has merged with the 8th Fleet, which is under the command of the renowned Admiral Halberton. Also, judging by their course, they appear to be preparing to send the legged ship down to Earth. We have one last chance at stopping that ship before they leave our backyard. I believe we should take it."

_"We can be assured that the enemy will be protecting the legged ship with everything they have, including their own lives, if need be,"_ Diana Kessel said over the comm display. _"We can't hold back on this offensive if we want to reach that ship on time."_

"Yes. But, remember. Our target is not the 8th Fleet, but the legged ship and its mobile suits," Rau reminded.

_"Don't worry, we won't forget, Le Creuset,"_ Diana replied. _"Though, I will be honest with you. I'm not sure which to prioritize if we can't take them all out."_

"We'll take them all out just fine," Zane growled. "Just leave the Raven to me."

_"Foolish boy,"_ Diana said coldly. _"Do you think anyone cares for your personal vendettas? You're skilled, that much is true. But you lack the soldier's sense to prioritize your mission over your emotions."_

"Tch. You're one to talk! I know all about you and your obsession with the-!" Zane yelled, but was silenced by Falkner's hand landing on Zane's shoulder and Rau sending a cold glare Zane's way.

"That's enough, Zane," Rau reprimanded. "Commander Kessel is right. As it is, those machines have been posing serious problems for us. We cannot simply let a golden opportunity slide by just to give someone else a chance at destroying them."

_"Thank you for that, Commander Le Creuset,"_ Diana said, though her tone hadn't lost any of its icy qualities. _"As of the moment, our forces consist of thirteen GINNs from our team, my CGUE, the five GINNs that came with the _Ziegler_, the Buster, the Blitz, and the Surge from the _Gamow_, two GINNs and two CGUEs from the _Vesalius_, as well as Zala's Aegis, Vanyel's Sentinel and Asahara's GINN Assault Type, if my calculations are correct. Is there anything else we might have overlooked for this operation?"_

Before Rau could confirm or deny the mobile suit count, Leon absently murmured "Ballutes..."

The golden-brown-haired pilot suddenly seemed to remember that he was in a tactical meeting and looked up, taking in everyone's questioning stares with a neutral expression, before he sighed in exhasperation. "I said 'ballutes'. GINNs and CGUEs aren't built for independent atmospheric reentry. If they get caught in the Earth's gravitational pull, they'll burn up unless they can slow their descent. Only ballutes are strong enough to do that."

"What? But equipping ballutes will slow us down!" Zane protested.

Leon sent him an icy glare. "Are you that eager to die? If you want, you can launch without one, but I won't let your bravado jeopardize the safety of any of the other pilots!"

"That's enough, Leon. I agree with what you're saying. It's better to be safe than sorry," Rau said, before turning to Falkner. "Have the mechanics equip all units with ballutes."

"Understood, Commander," Falkner said, before turning on his heel and leaving the bridge.

_"Then we shall prepare for battle as well. Good hunting,"_ Diana said, terminating the link on her end. Rau turned to the remaining pilots.

"For the glory of ZAFT, that ship must not reach Earth! Prepare for combat deployment immediately!" he said. Zane immediately turned to leave, and no one present missed the murderous glare he sent at Leon.

The remaining three pilots waited for the lift to return before taking it down, where Athrun finally spoke.

"You know, you shouldn't put your neck out so blatantly, Leon," he said. "You've already pissed him off _twice_."

Leon sighed. "The guy just can't think straight. His pilot's sense is excellent, that I can safely say. But, his emotions blind him from thinking strategically when looking at a battle from a commander or tactician's point of view."

"We'll need to be extremely careful," Tomoyo said. "If we pursue them too far, we'll be sucked into the Earth's gravitational field."

"Also, even though the manuals of the Aegis and Sentinel say the two units are capable of independent atmospheric reentry, I don't want to risk my life on something that hasn't been tested," Athrun said as the lift door opened. The three pilots stepped out and made their way to the pilot ready room.

"A blitzkrieg operation with a time and range limit..." Leon commented, shaking his head. "No matter what way you look at it, this is almost insane."

Athrun and Tomoyo both nodded their agreement at his statement - this was a high-risk operation, with the course of possibly the rest of the war at stake.

_'I have this ominous feeling... like something is going to go horribly wrong...'_ the golden-brown-haired pilot thought, his eyes reflecting his inner turmoil. _'But... I... can I stop because of a simple feeling? What if I do? What then? Will that make the war end any faster? Or will someone pay the cost for my reluctance?'_

Leon shook his head rather harshly and looked up, his icy blue eyes shining with a fiery determination.

_'No. I'll fight. I won't give in, not if I want to cut through the distortions that caused this war.'_

Leon never noticed Tomoyo giving him a look filled with both concern and uncertainty.

* * *

February 13, C.E. 71

The _Archangel_

"Discharge papers?" Sai asked.

"That is correct. In order to avoid any legal complications, you have all been declared as volunteer soldiers of the Earth Alliance Forces," Captain Hoffman of the _Menelaos_ explained. "Signing these papers will allow you to disembark from the _Archangel_."

"I'm staying. I don't need any of these," Flay said, handing her papers back to Hoffman.

Hoffman nodded. "Very well then."

"Flay?" came the voice of a surprised Sai.

"You do realize what you're saying, don't you?" Natarle questioned.

"Yes, I do. I'm not saying this as a joke. I've been thinking about things ever since my father died," Flay admitted. "Ever since that happened, I think I can understand a bit better now. I couldn't bear the pain I felt, but it also made me realize that there are a lot of other people out there who are suffering just like I am. I thought what I was going through was hell, but I know that others are going through much worse than what I am. So, even if I'm not a very good soldier, I still want to do my part to stop this war and ease the sufferings of others."

"I see..." Natarle said. "It looks like I won't need to get a replacement for your post. Let's go."

As the two left, the remaining volunteers shared significant glances, before they all nodded.

Tearing the papers that were their tickets out of the war, they hurried out after Badgiruel and Flay.

* * *

Civilian Shuttle Docking Bay

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways, huh?" Chris said as he and Kira reached the line leading up to the shuttle. "You take care of yourself."

"Yeah, you too, Chris," Kira replied. A little bit ahead of them, a little girl looked back, saw Kira and Chris, and immediately launched herself at the two boys, giggling as Chris caught her.

"Thank you for protecting us, Mister," she said, pulling out three paper flowers. "These two are for you, and the other one's for that nice girl!"

"Thanks," Kira replied, taking one of the flowers and handing the other two to Chris.

"I'll make sure this gets to her," Chris assured, placing his free hand on the girl's head. The girl smiled cheerfully before turning back and launching herself back at her mother. Kira watched the young girl disappear into the shuttle with a smile, satisfied that he had at least been able to protect her, if nothing else.

"We did some good," Chris said, startling Kira out of his thoughts. "We were able to protect a kid like her because of our efforts..."

Kira nodded, before Chris shoved some papers in his hand. "These are your discharge papers. Tolle and the rest had to get to their stations, so they asked me to give these to you, along with their farewells and regards. You can't disembark otherwise."

"They're staying...?" Kira asked, his voice a quiet whisper.

Chris nodded. "Flay decided to stay, so everyone else decided to stick it out on this ship till the bitter end," he said. "You're the only one leaving."

Kira looked down. "I... see..."

A split-second later, Sai's voice came over the ship's intercom.

"All hands to level one battlestations! I repeat, all hands..."

"There's my cue. Listen, you take care of yourself, Kira," Chris said, tossing Kira a casual salute as he turned and left. "So we can meet up again once this war's over."

Kira watched Chris leave, before he stared down at the papers in his hand. Then his gaze shifted to the flower he had. He felt himself breaking apart, torn between what he _wanted_ to do, and what he was _compelled_ to do. His recent experiences came to mind: the destruction of Heliopolis, his battles against ZAFT's Le Creuset Team - against Athrun - his failure to save Flay's father... and the little girl who had given him the paper flower. He closed his eyes as he struggled against himself.

"Hey, kid!" the load master called. "You coming?"

Kira opened his eyes, a determined fire behind them.

"Please, go on without me," he said, crumpling the papers and tossing them aside as he left the hangar.

* * *

_Vesalius_ Launch Deck

The linear catapult of the _Vesalius_ locked itself into position, the entire assembly's lights coming to life. The Aegis stepped onto the launch deck, all but ready to launch due to the mental state of its pilot.

_"The coast is clear, Aegis,"_ the launch deck controller said. _"You may launch!"_

The words floated past a distracted Athrun as he stared out the main screen and beyond, lost in his thoughts, and in the words Lacus had bade him just before departing for the PLANTs.

_"Kira is a good person, and a strong one, too... And, deep down... he doesn't want to fight you, Athrun... You know that, too, right?"_

Yes, she had said those words to him... and, even if he and Kira were on opposite sides... he knew that what Lacus had said was exactly what he would have expected from his old friend.

_'I know, Lacus...'_ the ultramarine-haired pilot thought, shutting his eyes closed. _'I don't want to fight him, either... but I...'_

_"Athrun, what are you doing?"_ Zane suddenly shouted. _"What's wrong with you? Hurry up and launch!"_

Athrun's eyes shot open as he snapped back to reality. He transformed from conflicted young man to elite soldier in a heartbeat as he went through the final launch procedures.

"Aegis, launching!" he announced as he hit the throttle, propelling the Aegis into space. In its wake, Leon's Sentinel moved up onto the catapult, locking itself into place. A few moments later, the green light lit up for the other pilot.

_"Leon Vanyel, Sentinel, heading out!"_

Behind the Sentinel, the remaining mobile suits of the _Vesalius_ - minus Rau's personal CGUE - launched, joining up with the two G-Units. The remaining ships of the fleet deployed their own mobile suit complements. The entire unit formed up, the stolen Gundams in the lead. The entire force was twenty-nine mobile suits strong, and was more than eager to avenge their earlier failures with nothing less than total victory.

* * *

As the ZAFT forces rushed the Earth Alliance fleet, Leon Vanyel's eyes – along with the eyes of nearly everyone else - were on the Duel that was flying along with the Sentinel right at the tip of the formation.

Needless to say, the fact that the Duel - now equipped with its own Assault Shroud - was out on the field was enough to get many of the other pilots questioning the mental stability of its pilot.

_"Yzak... are you sure you're patched up enough to be flying right now?"_ Saul asked, not bothering to mask the concern in his voice.

_"Shut up! Just shut the hell up!"_ an enraged Yzak yelled back. _"And stay out of my way! All of you! THAT DAMN STRIKE GOES DOWN TODAY!"_

Whether the person had no plans of wasting energy on arguing with Yzak, or simply chose to ignore the hot-headed pilot, the ZAFT pilots all did keep the chatter down, at least until they got within firing range of the enemy fleet.

The Earth Forces fleet deployed a massive number of mobile armors, but their numbers only meant more targets for the superior mobile suits of the ZAFT forces. And, although the experienced pilots of the Alaric Team possessed a greater degree of skill, it was obvious that the true edge in fighting power lay in the Gundams of the Le Creuset Team.

The Aegis fired its Scylla, taking an escort ship apart with a single shot, before transforming into its mobile suit mode and systematically shooting down several mobile armors with frightening precision.

Behind the Aegis, the Blitz fired its Trikeros beam rifle at a group of mobile armors, before activating its Mirage Colloid. Seconds later, it reappeared before the bridge of a _Nelson_-class and fired its Gleipnir rocket anchor into it, destroying the structure and taking the vessel down.

The Buster and the Duel worked in tandem, unleashing a rain of firepower excess that easily tore through any formation the Earth Forces could throw against them. The Buster combined its gun launcher and rifle into its hyper-impulse sniper rifle configuration and fired, tearing straight through a _Drake_-class from bow to stern, annihilating it completely.

The Duel evaded fire from the _Nelson_-class that the Buster's victim had been shadowing before taking aim and letting loose with beam rifle, missile pod, and railgun. Explosions blossomed on the ship as it was consumed in a merciless ball of fire.

As the two machines continued their sustained barrage, the Surge maneuvered around the two, drawing its anti-armor swords and cleaving through mobile armors like they were paper. It cut a path right towards a _Drake_ and fired its Hakenfaust into the hull. Using the claw as a tether line, the mobile suit swung around and up onto the ship. The Surge raised both swords and brought it down on the bridge, ending the ship's usefulness.

Diana Kessel shook her head in disbelief as she gunned down a pair of mobile armors herself. The stolen mobile suits were just tearing apart anything in their way, and were certainly showing no quarter. Just those four were racking up kills as fast as the entire Alaric Team that had been deployed in this engagement.

She took idle note of Zane's crimson CGUE off in the distance, but pushed the detail aside as she dodged incoming fire from a formation of mobile armors.

In his CGUE, Zane flitted through the battlefield, cutting apart mobile armors with his sword or gunning them down with his rifle and vulcans. He growled in frustration as he shot down another mobile armor.

"Where are you? Where are you, Raven?" he ground out as he bit back a stream of expletives.

In another part of the battlefield, the Sentinel and the Le Creuset Team's newest addition - Tomoyo Asahara's GINN Assault Type - were making their own dent in the numbers of the Earth Forces.

"Tomoyo, just pick off enough targets for me to slip through, then fall back to a group of friendlies," Leon said as he spun the Sentinel's double beam glaive around, deflecting missiles and linear rounds while cutting through several Moebius units. Twisting around, Leon fired the right Ouroboros, its plasma cannon roaring to life and crackling with pure energy, at a _Drake_, gripping the vulcan mounted on the middle portion of the ship. The plasma cannon discharged its deadly attack, tearing the ship apart right down the middle.

Inside her GINN's cockpit, Tomoyo frowned at Leon's statement. The frown deepened as she took note of the number of enemy ships and mobile armors in their immediate area, and between the two mobile suits and their target. What Leon was suggesting was near suicide. Even with his piloting skills and the Sentinel's superior performance levels, he'd run well out of power before getting to the legged ship.

"I've got a better idea," she replied. The barest hint of a smirk played across Tomoyo's lips at Leon's raised eyebrow and inquisitive expression. "Simple, you sit back, and I'll open up a hole for us _and_ our comrades."

"And how do you propose you do that?" Leon asked. "You've only got so many bullets, and you're bound to run out halfway."

Tomoyo finally cracked a full smile, the first ever time she has done so, Leon noted. "Just sit back and watch a pro at work, Vanyel. I'm not just another 'Red', and don't you forget it!"

Bringing up her GINN's customized targeting systems, Tomoyo's eyes rapidly flew over the display screen as a group of targeting reticules locked onto several targets at once. Without a word, Tomoyo brought the weapons cycle online and began firing at a rapid pace with her gatling guns, missile launchers, and twin experimental beam rifles. Leon watched in awe as the spray of assorted ammunition tore apart mobile armors and battleships left and right. The barrage lasted a mere ten seconds, but at the end of it, an entire battle group of the 8th Fleet had just been completely annihilated.

Tomoyo's face appeared on the comm. display, an infuriatingly superior smile etched on her face. "Well, Mr. Vanyel? Are you convinced?" she asked in a sugary sweet voice.

Leon shrugged in defeat, the tiniest of smiles gracing his features. _'Well, I'll be damned...'_

Clearing his throat, Leon replied flatly. "Well, you're definitely one hell of a shot."

Tomoyo's smile turned into a confident grin. "You're looking at the girl who holds five marksmanship records at the academy," she said.

Leon shook his head, not quite willing to believe that just yet. "Well, after seeing that display, I wouldn't be too surprised if that outrageous claim turned out to be true," he replied, a glint lighting up his eyes. "Let's go. We can still catch the legged ship."

The two suits gunned their thrusters and advanced deeper into the fleet, intent on taking down the legged ship. Behind them, a lavender CGUE Assault rose up, a smirk playing across its pilot's face.

"Interesting... I hope you don't mind my following you... Leon Vanyel..." Falkner Grey said as he punched the throttle up, following the two mobile suits into the mass of enemy ships and mobile armors.

* * *

_Archangel_ Pilot Ready Room

Chris and Liz were busy suiting up for sortie when suddenly Kira burst in, surprising the Dante siblings.

"K-Kira? What the hell are you doing here?" Chris asked, voicing the question both Coordinators had running through their head.

"I've decided to stay. I couldn't leave everyone behind," Kira replied as he quickly grabbed his pilot suit and rushed into the male changing room.

Chris smiled. "Well, that's good to hear. I mean, I thought I was going to have to pilot the Strike. No offense, it's an amazing machine, but... it's just not mine, you know?"

Kira stepped out of the changing room in his pilot suit, his clothes shabbily folded. He stuffed them into his locker, grabbed his helmet, and, after sharing a nod with his two friends, took off for the hangar. When they reached it, they found Mu in a heated argument with someone over the hangar's comm unit. The trio expected Natarle to be on the other end of the line, but they were in for quite a surprise.

"What are you talking about, Captain?" Mu said, eliciting a collective intake of breath from the three Coordinators. "ZAFT's goal is the _Archangel_, and they're going to tear apart anyone and anything in their way! If the kids and I deploy, we can at least draw away some of their units!"

_"Our ship hasn't been ordered into battle. You will remain on standby until we are told otherwise,"_ Murrue replied.

"But we can't just sit here, Captain!" Mu objected further. "Two of ZAFT's best teams are out there! The Le Creuset Team alone would have been bad enough, but the Alaric Team has pretty much determined this battle's outcome! If we don't sortie now, the fleet is doomed!"

_"I said for you to remain on standby, Lieutenant,"_ Murrue replied sternly, before cutting the link.

Mu let out a rich curse and slammed his fist into the bulkhead beside the terminal. "What is she thinking, not letting us launch at a time like this? The 8th Fleet needs us out there!"

"She's worried about an order from Admiral Halberton arriving while we're too far out," Kira said, surprising Mu. The blond lieutenant turned as Kira, Chris and Liz approached.

"Hey there, kid. Weren't you going to leave the ship?" Mu asked.

"That was what I originally planned, but... I couldn't leave everyone behind to fight alone," Kira replied. "So I'll be staying on as the Strike's pilot."

"Well, that's some of the best news I've heard since this battle started," Mu replied with a grin. "You probably overheard us, so let's get into our machines. We've got a tough fight ahead of us, if ever, and it would be best to be prepared."

* * *

The 8th Fleet was making a valiant stand, putting every effort they had into the battle. However, their pilots were too green and their mobile armors too outclassed to put up much of a fight against the elite pilots and mobile suits of ZAFT's Le Creuset and Alaric Teams.

The Speartip Team flew through the battlefield at a blistering pace, leaving a trail of explosions in their wake. Any mass-fire formations that attempted to engage them sent the trio of mobile suits veering off at a sharp angle. Their erratic path just made it all the more difficult to pin the units down and any attempts to damage or destroy the three black and purple GINNs was instantly rendered futile.

Meanwhile, Basque Gideon unleashed a rain of fire on a pair of _Drake_-class escort ships, firing his "Barrus" heavy ion cannon and "Pardus" missile launchers with gusto. The assault proved effective, destroying the first and crippling the second.

Lucius Raveshaw and Ajay Cortez moved in tandem as they tore through mobile armor after mobile armor with expert precision. Lucius fired on a trio of mobile armors, gunning two down, while Ajay swooped in, bringing its combat knives down on the third and ripping them free of the Moebius.

Drawing his rifle, Ajay boosted up towards a mobile armor formation, firing on them as he closed in. When he reached the mobile armors' maximum firing range, Ajay discarded his rifle and kicked his thrusters up to their maximum, breaking right through their formation.

As Ajay continued his reckless assault, Lucius aimed in Ajay's general vicinity, and fired. His rounds struck true, piercing the cockpit of one mobile armor and striking the fuel tank of another.

From the bridge of the _Menelaos_, Admiral Halberton grimly watched the battle unfold.

"Even without the dreaded Black Hawk... the Alaric Team is still devastating..." he murmured, listening as more and more casualties were reported in. "And the stolen G-Units are truly in a class of their own..."

"Sir, there's a communiqué from the _Archangel_."

"Hm? Well, we can't keep them waiting. Patch them through."

A few moments later, the _Archangel_'s bridge appeared on the main display of the _Menelaos_' bridge.

_"Admiral, I would like to request permission to begin the atmospheric entry sequence,"_ Murrue said. _"The target of the ZAFT forces is this ship. If we descend now, we may be able to save at least part of the fleet."_

Halberton closed his eyes, weighing the possibilities. It seemed like minutes in Halberton's mind, but when he opened his eyes, he glanced at the chrono. Only a single second had passed.

"Very well. I authorize the _Archangel_'s descent," he said. "We'll cover for you as long as you can."

Halberton quickly turned to the communications officer. "Fleet-wide transmission, now," he said, and waited for the go-signal from the officer before starting.

"Attention, this is the _Menelaos_ addressing all ships. This is Halberton speaking. From now onwards, the focus of our energies will be to protect the _Archangel_ until it reaches the atmospheric entry interface. We expect this to be a harsh battle, but if we are to win the conflicts that lie ahead, we cannot afford to lose that ship. Reassemble the formation, quickly! With the will and determination of the 8th Orbital Fleet, we'll make certain that not a single enemy makes it through. We'll show them just what the Earth Forces are made of!

The _Archangel_, having received Halberton's permission to descend, began its atmospheric entry procedure. However, the massive ship was not the only one entering the atmosphere.

Leon Vanyel's Sentinel and Tomoyo Asahara's GINN Assault Type were approaching fast, having broken through one side of the fleet, as the Duel, Buster, Surge, and Zane's CGUE broke through the defensive lines the _Menelaos_ and other nearby warships had thrown up. Yzak, Dearka and Zane were dead-set on bringing the ship down, while Saul was there to keep the hotheads from getting themselves killed.

_"Captain, please let us launch!"_ Mu said from the Zero's cockpit. _"We can hold them back until the very last second before disengaging."_

"According to the specs, the Strike, Raven and Guardian are capable of independent atmospheric entry," Kira added.

_"That's crazy!"_ Murrue said. _"It hasn't even been tested yet!"_

_"But if we launch, we can take the heat off of the 8th Fleet,"_ Chris replied. _"It's worth the risk."_

_"No, I can't allow it. Launching at a time like this is suicide!"_

_"But Captain, if we don't launch, we'll be sitting ducks for the mobile suits that are coming in!"_ Liz countered. _"You have to let us launch, or we're all going to die!"_

The four pilots heard a very audible sigh. _"Very well. I'll authorize the launch, but you must return to the ship before we hit phase three of the atmospheric interface."_

_"Understood, Captain,"_ Mu replied as the link was cut. He sighed in mild annoyance as the Strike and Guardian were moved to the catapult.

_"Liz Dante, Guardian, ready to go!"_

As the Guardian launched, the Gunbarrel Striker was being mounted on the Strike. Before the Raven could be set into the position that the Guardian had vacated, the starboard catapult gave Kira the green light.

"Kira Yamato, Strike, launching!"

As soon as Kira shot out of the catapult, he felt the drag of the Earth's gravity begin to affect his mobile suit.

_"Careful guys! The Earth's gravity is drawing us in!"_ Liz said as the Guardian soared towards the battlefield in its mobile armor mode.

_"Man, I know I was all for it, but this is still stupid,"_ Chris added as he launched and followed the Strike and Guardian.

_"You're not the only one who thinks that,"_ Mu said, pushing his thrusters to the limit to catch up to the four mobile suits. _"I've never done something this insane in my whole life."_

* * *

Yzak smirked as the Strike came into view on his main camera. "At last... time for some payback, Strike!" he said as he locked onto the Strike with all his available weapons.

The Duel and the Buster fired, but Kira and Mu skillfully evaded the shots. Both pilots deployed a pair of Gunbarrels and proceeded to assault the Duel and Buster with a hail of beam fire and missiles.

"Dammit, these things are starting to piss me off!" Yzak shouted as his machine began to shake from the impact of missiles against his armor and shield.

* * *

The Raven and the crimson CGUE circled each other, the CGUE firing with its thermal cannon while the Raven did nothing to retaliate.

_"There's no Pink Princess to save you this time, Chris,"_ Zane said as he fired with the thermal cannon once more.

"Zane... why did you change so much? You weren't like this before!" Chris said as he pulled the Raven to the side, dodging the shot. "You never hated anyone in your life before!"

_"That was then, and this is now!"_ Zane replied. _"The old Zane died along with Junius Seven!"_

Zane continued his merciless assault, but Chris did nothing to counterattack. He just couldn't do it. Even with Zane's state of mind, Chris could not find the will in him to fire at his old friend.

* * *

"This is great... just great..." Saul muttered to himself as he traded shots with the Guardian. This close to Earth, his thrusters were beginning to strain against the pull of gravity, draining his already low power supply. In sharp contrast to his predicament, the Guardian's pilot was fresh, and had a fully-charged battery to use, not to mention that it was seemingly unaffected by the extra factor.

Finding a small opening, Saul fired two shots from his beam rifle before shooting out the Hakenfaust triple claw. He briefly wondered whether the Guardian would mimic the Raven's maneuver in the previous battle and transform back into mobile suit mode to pull the Surge in with the extension line.

The Guardian _did_ transform, as Saul predicted, prompting a smirk... A smirk that quickly died as the purple mobile suit shot two grenades from its forearms, destroying the Hakenfaust. Saul's eyes widened in surprise as the Guardian shot through the explosion, beam saber drawn.

"Damn it!" he said as he switched his rifle to the left arm before drawing the Surge's long anti-armor sword.

* * *

As the _Archangel_ continued its atmospheric entry sequence with cover from its mobile suit team, Leon Vanyel and Tomoyo Asahara circled around the main engagement zone.

They only had one objective, and that objective was the legged ship.

Looking out his left viewport, Leon had an almost clear view of the ship as it slowly descended. At this angle, the only weapons capable of hitting him were the ship's point defenses, hardly a threat with his Phase Shift Armor. The only problems would be the formation of Earth Forces ships in his way.

_"Why the hesitation, Leon?"_ Tomoyo suddenly asked as she appeared on Leon's monitor, a genuinely concerned expression on her face.

Leon sighed. "I don't know... something just feels off..." he said. "It's as if a voice is telling me that if I make my move now, something... tragic... is going to happen."

Tomoyo nodded understandingly. _"Don't pressure yourself into doing it... I'll understand if you want to call our assault off."_

There was a pause as Leon closed his eyes for a brief second, and then it came.

"No. We can bring this entire war to a swift end if we pull this off," he said. "Ready, Tomoyo?"

Tomoyo chewed her lip for a moment, then nodded. _"Leon... you're right. Let's go!"_

The two mobile suits lined themselves up right above the _Archangel_ and punched their thrusters, sending them on a rapid dive towards the greatest hope the Earth Alliance had to win this war.

* * *

The _Gamow_ pulled ahead of the _Vesalius_, and made a beeline for the _Archangel_.

"That's... they're making a suicide run on the _Archangel_!" Captain Hoffman said in surprise.

"Move the _Menelaos_ between them! Focus all fire on the _Laurasia_-class, and deploy the civilian shuttle!" Halberton ordered. "We've come too far and lost too much to simply allow the _Archangel_ to be destroyed!"

The _Menelaos_ maneuvered itself directly into the path of the _Laurasia_-class, exchanging shots with the ZAFT ship as the two steadily approached the Earth's atmosphere.

* * *

Dearka evaded the multi-directional barrage of the Zero's gunbarrels by reversing his thrust and moving backwards. However, without knowing it, he had played everything according to Mu's plan, as the Buster now found itself right in the middle of Mu's sights. A single, well-aimed shot from the Zero's linear gun hit the Buster square in the chest, sending it tumbling uncontrollably towards the Earth and away from the battle.

Glancing at his mission clock, Mu nodded as he found himself out of time. Turning around and hitting his thrusters, he rocketed towards the _Archangel_, and, when he was in range, fired a rocket anchor to pull himself in. Within moments, the Zero was back in the hangar.

"Hey, where are the kids?" he asked as Johanna stepped towards the Zero.

Johanna, her face ashen, shook her head. _"It's too late. We just hit phase three."_

"What?" Mu said, his eyes widening in shock.

* * *

The Surge and Guardian finally broke away from each other, both their pilots sweating heavily as they struggled to keep their machines from succumbing to the oppressive heat of atmospheric friction and the increasingly powerful pull of gravity.

"This is enough for today..." Saul said, turning and punching his thrusters to their absolute limit. The Surge shot away from the Earth, draining the last of its power in the process. Nicol quickly grabbed hold of Saul's machine, pulling it away from the battle zone and towards friendly ships.

The Guardian had transformed into its mobile armor mode and, like the Surge, had turned away and headed for the _Archangel_, but found itself too far out to reach the ship. Liz began going through the manual for independent entry as she followed the _Archangel_'s course, activating the Guardian's coolant shift to reduce the atmospheric friction.

* * *

The _Menelaos_ and _Gamow_ continued to exchange salvos, but the stalemate was about to be broken. The _Gamow_, already badly damaged just getting to its current situation, was the first to collapse from structural damage and atmospheric pressure. The _Menelaos_, although still relatively unharmed, had already fallen too far into the atmosphere for there to be any hope of escape. The 8th Fleet's flagship exploded, sending chunks of its hull out in all directions.

Two different parties honored the heroic sacrifice of the _Menelaos_, the _Gamow_, and their crew. Murrue Ramius and Natarle Badgiruel both stood from their stations and saluted, Murrue doing so with tears streaming down her face.

Meanwhile, the entirety of the Alaric Team that was not engaged in combat had saluted, their mobile suits' weapons displayed in a presentation of arms that honored both crews.

* * *

Out on the battlefield, Athrun grit his teeth as his grip on the controls tightened. _'The _Gamow_... that Earth Forces carrier... every person on board died... and for what? Did they die simply for the sake of winning the war? Did those deaths accomplish anything?'_

_"Athrun,"_ Rau suddenly said as his face appeared on the Aegis' monitor. _"I need you to do something for me..."_

* * *

The duel between Chris and Zane intensified along with the heat surrounding them. Neither machine could gain the upper hand, with Zane evading every attempt Chris made at disarming his CGUE. Zane himself was no closer to destroying the Raven, as the midnight-blue suit continuously evaded fire from the CGUE's wild shooting.

Both pilots were suddenly alerted as the civilian shuttle flew by them.

_"What? Cowards fleeing the battlefield?"_ Zane said, turning his thermal cannon on the shuttle.

"What are you doing? There are only innocents on board that shuttle! Don't shoot!" Chris shouted as he raced towards Zane's CGUE as fast as the Raven's thrusters could carry him.

_"Hah! Innocent? Don't make me laugh, Chris!"_ Zane replied. _"There is no such thing as innocence among the members of the human race! It's time you opened your eyes and learned that!"_

Just as Zane was about to pull the trigger, a violent tremor shook his machine. As soon as he realized his machine was being pulled away from the Raven and the shuttle by the vice-like grip of the Aegis, Zane let out a scream of anger as he punched his main screen out of sheer frustration, before beginning to struggle out of the Aegis' grasp.

* * *

The Strike and Duel continued their own battle, locking beam sabers and struggling for dominance. Kira's eyes narrowed, aware that the Duel's pilot was probably assuming that he couldn't use his gunbarrels at close-range.

Unfortunately for said pilot, he was about to find out how wrong he was.

Kira quickly deployed two gunbarrels and fired a barrage from his beam guns, tearing apart the Duel's rail cannon, missile pod, and left leg. Using the momentary distraction, Kira shunted more power to the Strike's thrusters and pushed the Duel away before kicking the mobile suit in the head, sending it tumbling away.

Deploying the other two gunbarrels as well, Kira arrayed them against the Duel and fired a salvo of missiles at it, blasting apart the mobile suit's Assault Shroud armor. The Duel's pilot managed to still regain a degree of stability and began wildly firing his beam rifle at the Strike. None came close to hitting the Strike, but the civilian shuttle's trajectory took it dangerously close to the beams.

Kira redirected all the power meant for his weapons to his thrusters and surged forward, shield outstretched. Thinking fast, he opened an open channel and shouted at the Duel's pilot.

"Stop! What are you doing? That shuttle only contains civilians!" he shouted as he neared the shuttle.

But, Kira was too late, as a beam pierced the fragile shuttle. The Strike was caught in the explosion, sending it falling down to Earth.

_"Damn it, no!"_ Chris shouted, but could do little more as the g-forces and heat from reentry were quickly increasing far beyond his limit to handle. Chris spread the Raven's wings to reduce his speed, but passed out soon after.

The Strike and the Raven were in free fall, as the _Archangel_'s crew could do nothing but watch in horror. Miriallia and Flay were frantically trying to get their friends to respond, but had no such luck.

However, the Strike suddenly righted itself, and, with all the thrust power it could muster, moved towards the Raven and grabbed hold of the other suit. Kira began to slowly bring the Strike and the Raven closer to the _Archangel_, but quickly found the situation too much, and was left with no choice but to deploy the Strike's shield to reduce the friction affecting the two suits.

"Liz, can you get to them?" Miriallia asked.

_"No... the Guardian's thrusters won't be able to take it..."_ she choked out.

"Then we'll simply have to go to them. Readjust the _Archangel_'s course!" Murrue said, her fist clenched. "I will not lose those machines!"

"But we'll miss the descent point to Alaska!" Neumann objected.

"Getting to Alaska will be meaningless if we lose the Strike and the Raven to ZAFT!" Murrue said. "I will not leave those two to die!"

Kira watched as the _Archangel_ suddenly shifted course, moving itself underneath the two mobile suits. He saw the Guardian quickly follow suit before it closed in and landed on the massive warship's hull.

Kira, seeing his only opportunity, wasted no time. Using all of the Strike's thrust power, he brought the Strike and the Raven down next to the Guardian, redirecting all his power to the Strike's cooling systems. He routed the Raven's OS to his main computer and activated its cooling systems. Satisfied, Kira finally leaned back in his pilot's chair and passed out from exhaustion.

The last thing he saw before passing out was the paper flower on his control board.

* * *

Leon could not get the image of the shuttle's explosion out of his mind. He and Tomoyo had heard the Strike's pilot shout out for Yzak to stop, and Leon could not help but admire him. An enemy the Strike's pilot may be, but the golden-brown-haired red coat admired the young man's effort to protect the civilians on board that shuttle, even if it meant risking his life.

An alarm sounding from his main screen prompted Leon to look down, and he immediately cursed.

_'Damn, we're too far in...'_ he thought. _'If we don't try to escape now, we'll be sucked into the atmosphere!'_

"Tomoyo! We're already at our limit!" Leon shouted, trying to get his partner's attention... when he looked around just in time to see an explosion blossom on the silver-white GINN Assault Type. To his horror, the GINN emerged from the explosion in an uncontrolled descent into the atmosphere, smoke trailing from the torso, which had taken the brunt of the attack.

_'Oh, shit, no!'_ Leon thought as he turned and rocketed towards the GINN. Grabbing onto the mobile suit's free hand, Leon turned the Sentinel around and began a rapid search for options.

"Tomoyo, can you hear me? You'll be fine... just hang on tight while I anchor us on to something," he said as he took aim with the other arm's 'Ouroboros' claw. Finding a suitable target in range, he fired the claw out. The claw hit its mark, stopping the fall of both mobile suits.

_"Leon, just go... my GINN's nothing more than dead weight..."_ Tomoyo replied in a pained voice. From how her voice sounded, Leon could only assume that an explosion had occurred inside her mobile suit's cockpit.

"Just shut up, Tomoyo. I'm not giving up on you… I'm not giving up on anyone!" Leon said as he began to reel himself and Tomoyo in, the Sentinel's frame straining from the pressure.

Falkner Grey fired at a pair of desperate mobile armors, destroying them with a couple of well-placed shots. He maneuvered his machine around the weak return fire of a _Drake_-class ship and stopped right before the bridge of the _Nelson_-class Leon was using as an anchor. Glancing at a screen showing the Sentinel and the GINN Assault Type, he smirked.

"Leon Vanyel... Tomoyo Asahara... it would be best if you two disappeared _now_... otherwise, you may prove to be more than mere pests in the near future," he said as he fired into the bridge of the _Nelson_, destroying it.

Leon's eyes widened as the ship he had latched onto suddenly exploded. He grit his teeth and quickly drew in the 'Ouroboros' claw. Before he could reorient the Sentinel, a large piece of debris slammed into his mobile suit, jarring him badly and forcing the Sentinel to lose its grip on Tomoyo's GINN.

"DAMMIT, NO! TOMOYO!" Leon shouted as he reached out towards the GINN, but to no avail. He could only watch as the ballute system activated, slowing the GINN's descent, and pray for Tomoyo's safety.

The Sentinel fell to Earth in an uncontrolled spiral, leaving Leon to the mercy of atmospheric reentry… with only the knowledge that he may have failed a friend… and the knowledge of his superior's betrayal.

* * *

**Well, that's that. I've been really busy with school, but I'll hopefully get back on track starting with this. I've introduced the final major OC for ZAFT, Tomoyo Asahara. A cookie for the person who can guess who I based her on.**

**With this, the Earth arc finally starts, and I hope this chapter managed to set itself apart from all the others before it.**

**Please leave a review. I may not need it as much as others, but your words always encourage me to do better each time.**

**Ja ne, minna-san!**

* * *

**Stars Falling in Space** Mecha Page

_"Just sit back and watch a pro at work, Leon. I'm not just another 'red', and don't you forget it!"_ - Tomoyo Asahara to Leon Vanyel, during the Battle of Orbit

**ZGMF-1017AS GINN Assault Type (Asahara Custom)  
**Description:  
The personal machine of ZAFT pilot Tomoyo Asahara, the latest addition to the pilot roster of ZAFT's elite Le Creuset team. She was assigned this particular GINN model due to her incredible skills at handling heavy weapons systems. This, coupled with Tomoyo's near-unparalleled marksmanship, make this seemingly average mobile suit perform far above and beyond what the manufacturers ever thought would be possible.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-1017AS  
**Code Name:** GINN Assault Type (Asahara Custom)**  
Unit Type:** mass production assault mobile suit**  
Manufacturer:** Maius Military Industries**  
Operator(s):** ZAFT**  
First Deployment:** C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** overall height 21.43 meters**  
Weight:** max gross weight 80.22 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** unknown**  
Power Plant:** ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown**  
Design Features:** sensors, range unknown; high-output pulse thrusters  
**Fixed Armaments:** 2 x gatling gun, mounted on shoulders  
2 x M68 "Pardus" 3-barrel missile launcher, mounted on legs  
2 x dual rocket-propelled grenade launcher, mounted on wrists  
MA-M3 heavy sword, stored on waist, hand-carried in use  
**Optional Hand Armaments:** JDP3-MMX50 experimental close combat beam assault rifle  
2 x M66 "Canus" short-range guided missile launcher, two missiles per launcher  
M69 "Barrus" heavy ion cannon  
M68 "Cattus" 500mm recoilless rifle  
**Pilot:** Tomoyo Asahara

**Appearance:** Basic appearance is the same as the GINN Assault Type's.

**Colors:** Silver-white body with blue trim. White biceps, thighs, and wings.

**Notes:** This is a standard GINN Assault Type with one main difference: the hand armaments. Unlike normal GINN Assault Types, Tomoyo Asahara's unit is meant to support _every_ possible weapon a GINN could equip. It's certainly capable of putting up one hell of a fight, even against Gundam units.


	10. Phase 10: Burning Clouds of Sand

**Well, let's get this show on the road. With this chapter, I introduce the next phase of the story, and you can certainly expect quite a few twists and turns in this story that will set it apart from what you saw in the other two stories that came before this.**

**Disclaimer: Well, slightly newer disclaimer here. I don't own Mobile Suit Gundam SEED or any characters and mecha associated with it or found therein, all of which are the property of Sunrise, Inc.**

**I don't own Christopher Dante, Elizabeth Dante, Johanna Dante, Saul Kessel, Zane Scirocco, the members of the Alaric Team (and their mobile suits), Victor Cain, the GAT-X302 Raven Gundam, and the GAT-X204 Surge Gundam, all of which are the property of Akatsuki Leader13. The GAT-X308 Guardian Gundam is the property of Maileesaeya.**

**I do own Leon Vanyel, Falkner Grey, Tomoyo Asahara, the GAT-X209 Sentinel, the ZGMF-1017AS GINN Assault Type (Asahara Custom), the ZGMF-515AS CGUE Assault Type (Grey Custom), and the TS-MA2mod.00+X04 Moebius Zero Striker.**

* * *

Phase Ten: Burning Clouds of Sand

February 14, C.E. 71

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Infirmary

Chris groaned and shifted slightly. The young Coordinator was lying unconscious on a bed in the Medical Bay, an IV inserted in his forearm. Flay gently pressed a wet cloth against Chris' sweat-soaked, burning hot forehead - which was currently in the same condition as the rest of his body - trying to bring down the pilot's fever. Lying in the bed across from Chris was Kira, who, although in a far better state than the aforementioned, was still unconscious and still being tended to by Mir.

"How are they, Doc?" Liz said from where she was leaning on the doorjamb, eying her brother with concern.

"Well, the fever aside, both of them show no signs of infections or internal injuries," Doctor Hunnicutt replied. "For now, all we can do is keep them hydrated and try to lower their body temperatures..."

"What? That's it?" Sai asked in surprise.

"In all honesty, this is my first time administering medical treatment to a Coordinator. Now, I don't claim to be an expert when diagnosing their symptoms... but what I do know is that their physical and mental capabilities far exceed our own. There should be no need to worry about them," Hunnicutt said.

"But-"

"They are indeed people just like us, if you only take their outside appearance. But, on the inside, their bodies are completely different from ours... Miss Dante aside, that is. Their bodies are capable of greater strength, their minds capable of storing an incredible amount of knowledge, and so on. Of course, with that sort of immune system, no fatal illness will ever manifest itself."

At that point, the Medical Bay's only door opened, admitting Lieutenant La Flaga. "Hey there, Doc. Are the kids going to be all right?"

"As I was explaining to them just moments earlier, Mr. Yamato and Mr. Dante are going to make a smooth recovery."

"That's good to hear," Mu said. "They were in battle while exposed to an intense amount of atmospheric friction, not to mention that Kira was pretty much on top of that explosion. How about Liz over here?"

"Miss Dante managed to keep her body temperature at a stable level, so she avoided any lasting side effects from heat exposure," Hunnicutt replied.

"It was only thanks to the coolant shift that the Guardian had, really..." Liz muttered to herself. She was certainly lucky to not be in the situation Chris and Kira found themselves in.

"Well, at any rate, please keep an eye on them, Doctor," Mu said, before turning to the younger of the Dante siblings. "If you don't mind pulling double-duty with me, Liz, could you help me out with the Skygraspers?"

"Sure, that won't be a problem," Liz replied, and followed Mu out the door. Before she stepped through, she looked back. "Hey, Flay. Keep an eye on my brother, okay?"

Flay gave Liz a weary smile. "Sure, no problem," she replied softly. Satisfied, Liz nodded and followed Mu out.

* * *

ZAFT African HQ, Banadiya

There was a lot of heat in the world, but never has she felt this much coursing through her. It almost felt like she was already on fire. There was also something mixed in... what was that feeling, she thought to herself.

_'Ah... it's pain...'_ she thought as she continued on her path towards consciousness. Eventually, as her mind began to remember how each part of her body worked, she worked out a checklist of three things that weren't normally supposed to be there. The first was what appeared to be... a wet cloth on her forehead? She seemed sure of it, or as sure as could be given the blanket of fog surrounding her mind. Something sharp and foreign was in her arm, and as her mind continued to come alive, she knew it to be an IV. Last on her checklist was what appeared to be a... gentle, comforting grip on her left hand. Someone must have been watching over her this whole time.

Eventually, Tomoyo Asahara's eyes slowly fluttered open. Her vision, blurred as it was, could make out what appeared to be a non-military room. Turning her head just a slight bit to her left, she could barely see a person seated next to her bed. Tomoyo's blurry eyes finally readjusted to the light, revealing to her the calm, even expression of Leon Vanyel.

"L... Leon...?" she croaked out through her parched throat. A smile crossed the other pilot's features as his icy blue eyes betrayed his apparent relief. Taking the hint from her dry, scratchy voice, Leon leaned forward and began easing the injured girl into a sitting position.

"Thank goodness..." he said as he helped Tomoyo sit up, taking great care to avoid aggravating any injuries. "You were in pretty bad shape when they wheeled you in last night. You lost a lot of blood, and your body temperature was in the danger zone. If you look at yourself, you'll see what I mean."

Tomoyo nodded as Leon went and retrieved a glass of water from a side table. She looked down at herself, wincing at how she was heavily wrapped in blood-stained bandages.

She then turned her attention to Leon, frowning as she took in his appearance. He was walking, but she could see every movement was being made gingerly. He definitely hadn't come out unscathed, evidenced by a patch of gauze and some bandages on his face, along with a few stains of blood still lingering in some strands of his spiky hair. His red coat was also open, revealing several layers of bandages covering both his torso and right arm, though he was still able to move the latter.

She attempted to reach out and take the glass that Leon was bringing over, but, after several jolts of pain shot through her body and made her vision blur, she relented and allowed the golden-brown-haired pilot to help her weakly lift the glass of water up to her lips. She could have been blushing for all she cared because the water was like a blessing from Heaven itself.

She closed her eyes and leaned back, a look of pure bliss on her face. After a few moments, she opened her eyes once more and smiled softly.

"Thanks, Leon. For that water just now..." she said. "And for what you did back during the battle."

The other pilot grinned. "Just don't get used to it," he teased. "I won't be around to take care of you all the time."

"Besides..." he added. "What kind of friend do you think I am?"

"Leon..." Tomoyo said, stunned at how the young man before her could somehow tease her and be serious all in one statement. Tomoyo didn't really know why, but hearing Leon's audacious proclamation made her brighten, and it wasn't just because he was the very first person to ever say something like that to her. There was an honest sincerity in the young man's eyes, something she had rarely seen in anyone else.

"Well, isn't this touching?" another voice said. Tomoyo and Leon both turned their attention towards the speaker, a grinning brown-haired man clad in the yellow uniform of a ZAFT Ground Commander. There was a fierce intellect in his sharp eyes, but Tomoyo detected a hint of honesty and goodness in them as well.

"No, no, there's no need to get up, Mr. Vanyel," he said, holding up a hand. "I try to stay personal with everyone I work with. It helps develop trust and friendship, or so I hear."

Looking at Tomoyo, the man's grin broke out even wider. "Hey there, young lady. The name's Andrew Waltfeld, ZAFT African Commander. Most people refer to me as the 'Desert Tiger', but my friends call me Andy. Good to meet you! You a fan of coffee?"

Tomoyo glanced uncertainly at Leon, wondering if the man was simply joking with her or not. All she was met with was a frustratingly infuriating smirk - the kind of look that could speak louder than words ever could, and it was one Tomoyo recognized as something she had flashed at Leon on more than one occasion. It was apparent that he learned quickly.

After quickly deducing that she was on her own on this one, she nodded at Andy, giving a friendly smile. "I'm Tomoyo... Tomoyo Asahara, recently assigned member of the Le Creuset Team. It's... a pleasure, Comman-"

"Call me Andy," he quickly interjected. "If it's too informal for you, Mr. Waltfeld will do. You aren't one of my crew, so there's no need to call me 'Commander'. That fine with you?"

"Um... yes, that will be fine," Tomoyo replied, a hint of uncertainty at the feared commander's eccentricities. "Mr. Waltfeld, then. To answer your question, I prefer tea over coffee, though the latter is still rather enjoyable."

"Great!" Andy replied cheerfully. "When you're completely well, we can discuss some finer points that will hopefully convince you that coffee truly is the way to go...!"

Tomoyo gave Leon another look, this one of utter disbelief. "Leon Vanyel, please tell me this is a bad dream," she pleaded. "Tell me this isn't seriously _the_ Commander Waltfeld!"

Leon burst out laughing, a first for the golden-brown-haired red coat. "Well, I'd love to, but if I did so, I'd be lying," he replied. "That goes against my personal creed, and so I must refuse your plea, however much it pains me so."

"Ah, it's good to hear honest words from a young man like yourself," Andy said, grinning. "Don't worry, Ms. Asahara. We're not on the battlefield right now, so we can probably goof around as much as we want."

Tomoyo's eye twitched. _'Is he serious?'_

"However..." Andy added, turning serious. "When we get out into the battlefield, my soldiers are my responsibility. I always do everything in my power to make sure as many of them as possible make it home at the end of the day. And that includes you two."

"Us?" Leon asked.

Andy nodded. "That's right. I've received word from the top. For now, you two will be assigned to my command until any further developments arise. Right now, my only order is for both of you to get some rest. Especially you, Vanyel. You've been up for almost 36 hours, your earlier ordeals not included."

"I'm fine, Mr. Waltfeld. There's no-"

"No excuse for you to still be up. Independent atmospheric reentry in a mobile suit is unheard of, and it's no joke. You're lucky to still be alive," Andy cut in. "Now, let's get you settled in a room so you can get some rest. You look just about ready to drop, not to mention that injuries do _not_ heal themselves."

Defeated, Leon nodded, suddenly looking incredibly fatigued. "Yes, sir," he replied, before getting up and following Andy. Pausing at the door, he turned back to Tomoyo, a tired, but teasing smile on his lips. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm not around, all right? You behave yourself."

Tomoyo blushed. "Don't treat me like a kid, Leon!" she shouted indignantly. Both Andy and Leon chuckled at the outburst, making Tomoyo's blush grow brighter. As the door closed behind them, Tomoyo first stared in surprise, then smiled gently as she lay back down on her bed.

_'So this is what it's like, huh...? Leon... he's... not like anyone else I've ever met...'_ were her last thoughts before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The _Vesalius_' Pilot Lounge

Athrun carelessly drifted in the zero-gravity environment in the pilot lounge, aimlessly staring out at the hangar where mechanics were busily maintaining the Aegis, Surge, Blitz, and the team's three custom CGUEs.

His thoughts were entirely on Kira. Right now, he was torn, inside and out. He and Kira were - are - best friends. Up until now, Athrun had no doubt Kira still thought of him as his best friend. Athrun could not lie to himself - he felt the same way. Why is it that the two of them had to end up on different sides of this war?

"We had a feeling you'd be here," Saul said mildly as he and Nicol entered, approaching Athrun. "We searched pretty much the entire ship, but then figured you'd be here if not anywhere else."

"Sorry for causing you trouble," Athrun replied. "So, any news?"

Nicol nodded. "Yzak and Dearka both landed safely on Earth, as did Zane," he said. "They're at Carpentaria right now. Also, we received word from the Waltfeld Team. They were able to track and recover both Leon and Tomoyo Asahara - that's the name of our new teammate, by the way, the one who piloted that GINN Assault Type. Ms. Asahara's in medical care for moderate injuries, but according to Commander Waltfeld, he almost had to use force to get Leon to stop worrying and get some rest."

Athrun chuckled. "Well, when Leon's set on something, it'll take all the force in the world to stop him. By the way, how's Yzak's wound? Is it bothering him?"

"I don't think that thing will ever be a bother to a guy like him," Saul commented. "In that sense, Yzak's even worse than Leon. Nothing short of a supernova can stop that guy. Hell, he's probably going around Gibraltar demanding he get resupplied so he can get out there and take down the Strike."

The three pilots shared a good laugh at their silver-haired teammate's expense.

"Yeah, I can actually picture that happening right about now," Athrun said.

* * *

Gibraltar Base

Yzak was in the middle of his latest rant of how the Duel needed immediate repairs and resupplying when he suddenly sneezed. Beside him, Dearka chuckled.

"Looks like someone's talking about you, Yzak," he said. "I'll put my money on Saul taking advantage of your absence to crack some sort of joke at your expense."

"Dearka, shut the hell up," Yzak ground out, his eye twitching from how his friend so casually threw a jab that clearly lacked in subtlety.

* * *

The _Vesalius_' Pilot Lounge

"So, have we received some new orders?" Athrun asked.

Saul nodded. "As a matter of fact, we did. We're being recalled back to the PLANTs. From what I could gather, it's for some new operation. I couldn't get too much from anyone, but I _do_ know that this will mean some sweet R&R," he said with a cheerful grin.

"Ah, here you are... I've been looking for you, Athrun Zala."

The three Redcoats turned to see Falkner Grey walking into the lounge. The three Redcoats immediately snapped to attention, seeing as Falkner was technically the third-in-command, answering only to Rau and Ades in the Le Creuset Team's hierarchy.

"No need for formalities, gentlemen," Falkner said. "Please, as you all were."

"Do you need something from me, sir?" Athrun asked.

Falkner shook his head. "No, not at all. I just merely came to warn you: Stay away from Scirocco for now… even when you run into him the next time."

Athrun looked surprised, and more than a bit confused. "Why is that?"

Falkner sighed. "Even if you were following the Commander's orders... Zane didn't take too kindly on your actions during the last battle. He believes you robbed him of his chance to destroy the Raven."

"That guy's just crazy, plain and simple," Saul said. "Who the hell would keep on fighting in that situation?"

"Rest assured, Saul, I've already spoken to Zane on the matter," the older man replied. "Hopefully he'll take better care when making decisions in future battles."

With that, Falkner spun on his heel and left.

"Man, wouldn't you agree if I said this team would be a lot better without Zane or Captain Grey?" Saul said. "Captain Grey is a different case, but it might have been easier on all of us if Zane just burned up back there trying to take out the Raven. There's just something about them that makes me sick to my stomach..."

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Infirmary

Two hours later

Kira slowly opened his eyes, groaning as the harsh lights of the medical bay hit him.

Flay, who was still tending to Chris, noticed the groan and moved over to Kira's bedside.

"You're awake," she said softly. "You were able to recover a lot faster than Chris... his fever just broke a little while ago..."

"Flay..." Kira said rather weakly. "Ugh... where... am I?"

The redhead gazed at Kira with sad eyes. "The ship's infirmary..." she replied. "You and Chris were both unconscious when they brought you in... I guess that explains why you don't remember."

"So... we made it to Earth?" Kira asked.

Flay nodded. "We landed sometime last night, in the middle of a desert," she confirmed. She looked up and looked at the door before continuing. "Mir was helping me out earlier, but she went to get some rest before taking her shift at the bridge."

"What about Liz?" Kira asked.

Flay smiled softly. "Don't worry about her," she assured Kira. "She's perfectly fine. You should continue to rest so that you don't suffer a relapse."

* * *

Several hours later

Chris opened his eyes, finally regaining consciousness much in the same way Kira had earlier. A slight movement on top of his head made him realize there was something on him that wasn't supposed to be there...

"Tori."

"GWAAAAAAAAAH!" Chris screamed, nearly jumping a meter into the air. Startled by Chris' sudden movements, Birdie took off, landing on the shoulder of Kira, who was sitting upright on his bed, and laughing his heart out.

"Dammit, what the hell does that thing find so interesting about my head?" Chris asked.

Kira laughed. "Oh, c'mon Chris... Birdie's just trying to be friendly!"

"What do you mean trying to be friendly?" Chris shouted. "I think it was trying to make a damn nest out of my hair!"

Kira's laughter increased. "It's just a robot, Chris. It doesn't even know how to make a nest!"

"Well, if I wake up one morning and find twigs in my hair, I'm dismantling that thing, no question about it."

Before Kira could reply, the door slid open, and Flay stepped through, a food tray and several glasses of water in her hands. "Oh, Chris! You're finally awake!" she said in surprise. "How are you feeling?"

"Could have been worse, really," Chris said in reply. "Though I feel like I went through an oven and a grinder all at once... What happened back there?"

"Well, what's the last thing you remember?" Kira asked.

"Hmm... I think it was that CGUE being pulled away by the Aegis," Chris replied. "I vaguely recall some frantic shouting, but everything else is a complete blur."

"You passed out, actually," Kira said. "I tried to use the Strike to get us both to the _Archangel_, but the boosters weren't strong enough. The ship managed to move itself under us so we could land on it, but I passed out after that, too."

"Well, I owe you one, then," Chris said. "Thanks, Kira."

"Don't mention it," Kira replied, but Chris adamantly shook his head.

"I'm serious. I always repay my debts."

Chris suddenly let out a dusty cough, shaking his entire frame. His throat felt as scorched as a bone under the desert sun. It was like he hadn't had a drink in weeks, which was an impossibility because he'd be dead if he went that long without any sort of liquid intake.

"Here, drink this," Flay said, handing Chris a glass of water before handing Kira another one.

Chris sat himself up, gratefully accepting the glass before downing it in a single pull. "Thanks..." he breathed. "That... was refreshing."

Flay passed the tray of food to a grateful Kira, before heading for the door. "I'll be back with more water and some food, so just wait for me."

After Flay had left, the door opened again, and Liz stepped in.

"Hey there, you two," she greeted cheerfully. "You guys all right?"

Kira's mouth was currently occupied by a bite of his meal, so Chris spoke up. "Well, it could have been worse, but we'll live," he replied.

Taking the opportunity he had, he continued. "Kira, there's something I need to tell you," he said. "Something I've been hiding from everyone on this ship."

"Something that you hid... even from me?" Liz asked.

Chris sighed. "Yeah... I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Liz. But this was something I _had_ to confirm before anything else. It's about the pilot of that red CGUE."

"What...? You mean that red CGUE you're always fighting?" Kira asked.

"Yes. His name... is Zane Scirocco," Chris said. Upon Liz's gasp, he nodded. "That's right. You still remember him, Liz."

Turning to Kira, Chris continued. "Kira, Zane Scirocco was my best friend when I was a child," he said bitterly. "Zane has hated violence for as long as I have known him... or so I thought, because now he's hell bent on wiping out almost anything that stands in the way of his goals, whatever they may be. I mean, if the Aegis didn't pull him away... he would've shot down the civilian shuttle..."

Chris suddenly recalled everything that had happened, and looked up in horror at Liz and Kira, both wearing pained expressions on their faces.

"No... it can't be..." he whispered. "The shuttle...?"

Kira nodded, his hand clenched into a tight fist. "I couldn't do anything to stop him..." he said, the shame evident in his voice. "The Duel was just firing wildly at me while in free fall, and the shuttle ended up getting caught in one of its stray shots."

"Hey, it's not really your fault," Liz said. "It was already a miracle you didn't burn up. I know it's hard to accept, but we're all people. We're not perfect, and we can't save everyone no matter how hard we try."

"Liz is right, Kira. Besides, I'm sure you also have your own problems," he said. "I know that you know the pilot of the Aegis."

Kira nodded. "Yeah... Athrun Zala... he was my best friend at Lunar Prep School. We never saw each other after we both left... until Heliopolis."

Chris shook his head. "This war is messed up. Zane, a pacifist, has become a cold-blooded monster. Two pairs of friends on opposing sides, and for what reason? All we're doing is fighting a war that was started because of spite and jealousy!"

"What are you going to do now, Chris?" Kira asked quietly.

"I'll fight," Chris replied without hesitation. "I'll stop Zane... one way or another. Unless you really have no other option, just leave him to me. In that respect, we'll try to avoid the Aegis as well."

"Right, I think we can all agree to that..." Kira said. Liz simply nodded in reply.

* * *

Later that Night

African Desert

"So... that's the Earth Alliance's newest warship, eh?" a black-haired man said, holding a pair of binoculars up to his eyes with one hand and holding a steaming hot mug of coffee in the other. "What did they say it was called, again?"

"The _Archangel_," a blond-haired girl replied.

The man chuckled. "Heh, that's a good one, considering that ship's history. It's been more like an Angel of Death for the Earth Alliance. Heliopolis, Artemis, and Admiral Halberton and the 8th Fleet... they were all destroyed after coming into contact with that ship," he said. "Of course, the fact that it's still around is a testament to its crew, its mobile suits... and the ship itself. They just might be what Desert Dawn needs to get Waltfeld out of the area. What do you think, Sahib?"

Sahib Ashman, the leader of the guerrilla movement known as 'Desert Dawn', nodded. "Will they be willing to aid us, Victor?"

Oblivious to Sahib's question, Victor had taken a sip from his mug. "Mmm... now this is an excellent cup of coffee. A perfect blend of French Roast with a dash of cinnamon, powdered chocolate, and nutmeg," he said, savoring the flavor of the drink.

"Victor!" Sahib growled in annoyance, snapping Victor out of his trance.

"Ah, right, sorry," the man replied. "I believe they will be willing to help. After all, they're in a pretty bad situation. They're right smack in the middle of enemy territory, they have no idea what's been going on here on Earth, and, worst of all for them, they're in the Tiger's backyard. If they want to stand a chance out here, they'll almost certainly need our help."

Suddenly, one of Sahib's men came running up to them. "Chief!" he shouted. "We've just received word! The Tiger's left the _Lesseps_ with five BuCUEs! He's heading for that ship!"

"Should we mobilize and help them out?" another guerrilla asked.

Victor shook his head. "Not just yet," he said. "We need to see how they fare against the Tiger. If they fall here, then it simply means that they just didn't have what it takes to help us beat the Desert Tiger."

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

"Ma'am, I've detected laser designators! Someone's trying to get a lock on us!"

Natarle grit her teeth. "Quickly, take us to Level One Battlestations! And get the pilots to their units!"

Kira, Chris, and Liz were suited up and on board their machines in record time, while Mu waited impatiently for Murdoch, Johanna, and the hangar crews to finish tuning up one of the Skygraspers they had received from the 8th Fleet.

_"We're under attack! Hurry up and give us the order to launch!"_ Kira said impatiently.

_"There's too much interference. We can't get an accurate gauge of the enemy's battle strength in this situation," _Natarle replied._ "It's suicide to go into a battle without a plan, not to mention that your mobile suits aren't built for this sort of terrain."_

"Let me launch to deal with the enemy for the time being," Chris replied. "If I use the mobile armor form, the Raven shouldn't be affected by the desert terrain. If I get in a sticky situation, Liz and Kira can back me up."

_"Brother! Are you sure you're up for this?"_ Liz asked worriedly. _"You still aren't at your best, after all..."_

"Don't worry," Chris replied. "I'll be fine."

_"Captain, please load me onto the other catapult,"_ Kira replied. _"If we arm the Strike as soon as we get the situation report from Chris, then we'll be saving time if I need to launch!"_

_"Understood,"_ Murrue replied._ "I grant permission for the Raven's launch. Move the Strike to the other catapult for a quick launch. Be careful out there."_

The Raven and Strike's storage racks moved forward, bringing the mobile suits to the launch decks. The starboard catapult deck opened up, revealing the desert night to Chris.

"Chris Dante, Raven... launching!" Chris announced as the midnight-blue mobile suit shot out of the catapult, transforming into its mobile armor mode. A quick look around him showed three Agile attack helicopters approaching.

"This can't be all they have... can it?" he muttered, nonetheless opening fire on the trio with the Raven's arsenal of machine guns, tearing the helicopters apart before they could react.

* * *

Elsewhere

"They've deployed the Raven..." Martin DaCosta, the rust red-haired aide of the Desert Tiger, said, watching the midnight-blue mobile armor circle the area.

Andrew Waltfeld smirked. "I expected them to send out the Guardian, the mobile suit with more firepower, but this will work. Spring the trap. Let's see if the Raven can fight if its wings are clipped."

Chris looked around, searching for any other enemies that might be in the area. Those helicopters couldn't be the _only_ thing they sent...

Without warning, several missiles streaked in, slamming into the Raven and sending it crashing down. Chris quickly transformed the Raven into mobile suit mode, righting the mobile suit and landing the unit in a crouch. Chris tried standing the unit up, but the sand began giving way beneath the Raven's feet.

"Oh, shit..." he said. "The sand's not stable enough for something as heavy as the Raven to stand on." Chris goosed the Raven's thrusters, getting the mobile suit back in the air, only for a pair of high-velocity slugs to hit him, sending Chris and the Raven back to the ground once more. Two missile launcher-equipped BuCUEs emerged from their hiding places and began circling the grounded Raven like vicious predators stalking their downed and vulnerable prey.

Without warning, one BuCUE lunged at him. Chris used the Raven's thrusters to get out of the way, but, having been anticipated by the second BuCUE, received another barrage of missiles to the back.

"Damn, Chris is getting pounded out there..." Kira said, his eyes fixated on two monitors: one showing Chris' struggle outside, and the other displaying his chosen Striker pack being mounted. Frowning, Kira mentally willed the machines to move faster. Another BuCUE had revealed itself, and was now taking potshots with its railguns, putting Chris in a precarious position.

_"Captain, let us launch! Chris needs backup out there!"_ Liz said.

_"If you can't keep in the air, then you'll only make yourself a target!"_ Natarle objected. _"That makes it pointless to launch right now!"_

"Let me launch, then," Kira said. "Chief Murdoch and I have been researching the Strike's modular nature, and we found that certain Striker packs were compatible with some of the equipment we received from the 8th Fleet. With this equipment setup and the right plan, I'm sure I can give Chris the cover he needs to get back in the air. Then you can have Liz launch as well to mop up what's left."

_"Very well then, Kira. You have clearance to launch,"_ Murrue said.

"Right," Kira said, nodding as the catapult opened. A moment later, the green light on the catapult display lit up.

"Kira Yamato, Strike, let's do it!" he announced as the catapult fired the Strike out. Those outside simply stared, confused that nothing had emerged.

* * *

"Huh? What the heck's going on...?" Chris muttered, confused by the open - and seemingly empty - catapult.

_'The Strike was loaded up in there... so why hasn't Kira come out yet?'_ he thought as he alternated between using his twin railguns and a beam saber to keep the BuCUEs at bay.

_"Whoa..."_ Kira said over the comm. _"Man, this sand really is a nightmare."_

Chris took his eye of the main screens for a split second to glance at the visual scanners. Some erratic shifting of sand at the top of a dune caught his eye, telling Chris what Kira's plan was. Just as the sand stopped moving, Chris' main monitor beeped at him, making him look down. A set of OS modifications scrolled up his main monitor, eliciting a smirk from Chris. He thanked whatever god was out there for blessing Kira with his technological genius, and set to work as quickly as he could.

An emerald dart of energy speared the railgun-equipped BuCUE with deadly accuracy. The mobile suit erupted in a spectacular explosion.

_"Chris! Now's your chance!"_ Kira said. Chris obliged, and the Raven took to the skies once more.

"How..." DaCosta said. "Commander, what's going on?"

"According to that data disk Leon Vanyel gave us earlier... it's probably the Mirage Colloid stealth system..." Waltfeld surmised. "Order the BuCUEs to focus their fire on that dune. And get the rest of the force ready. I anticipate the launch of that third machine of theirs."

Warning klaxons sounded in the Strike's cockpit, forcing Kira to leap off of the dune he had perched the Strike on. He held back on firing, hoping that they'd be thrown off, but more missiles and slugs came soaring in at him.

_'Well, they _definitely_ know where I am now...'_ he thought as he deactivated the Mirage Colloid and powered up the Phase Shift Armor.

_"Kira, what the hell did you do? Is that the stealth system that we got from the 8th Fleet?"_ Chris said in surprise.

"Chief Murdoch and I just cobbled this together temporarily, at least until we can do a real job on it," Kira said. "This Mirage Colloid stealth system they wanted us to test out is good on its own, but we can integrate it with the Aile Striker to get a balance of both worlds."

_"Kira, OS modifications complete on my end!"_ Liz quipped happily, prompting a grin from Kira as he imagined the full-blown smile he almost knew Liz was wearing on her face.

"Right, get launch clearance and let's take these guys out!"

_"Okay, you got it!"_

A few moments later, the Guardian emerged from the catapult and joined the battle, firing its hyper impulse rifle at a BuCUE and destroying the machine's power plant, not to mention the machine itself.

* * *

"Ah... there it is," Waltfeld said. "At last. DaCosta! Get the rest of the BuCUEs and Agiles in there. I want to see how they handle it! And get the _Lesseps_ ready for its role in the plan!"

"Yes, sir," DaCosta replied.

Several more BuCUEs emerged from their hiding places, firing on the three G-Units as more of ZAFT's Agiles rose into the air. The ZAFT pilots were shocked when the three machines maneuvered themselves with ease, gliding fluidly around the missiles and railgun rounds like they were moving in slow motion. Kira activated its Mirage Colloid and quickly reoriented the Strike, now finding himself on a BuCUE's flank.

The Strike fired, taking out the BuCUE's missile pod as it deactivated its Phase Shift. Kira's proximity sensors flashed to life, allowing him a split-second to turn around and smash the butt of the Strike's sniper rifle into a BuCUE, stopping its momentum. Kira finished the turn, lashing out with the Strike's leg as it connected, sending the BuCUE flying back. With lethal proficiency, Kira sighted in and fired, his shot piercing the mobile suit's power plant and destroying it completely.

_"Let's see how you like me now!"_ Chris said as the Raven avoided a barrage of missiles. _"BuCUEs may rule on land, but the Raven and I rule the night sky!"_

Activating the Raven's Ahura Mazda, he closed in on a BuCUE. The ZAFT mobile suit attempted to dodge using its speed. It was fast on the ground, yes. But the airborne Raven was even faster. The claws tore right through the BuCUE, destroying it.

Although they were holding their ground now, Kira knew they would be in trouble soon. Liz was dealing with the Agiles, but she was still taking some hits. At the rate the battle was going, their power was bound to run out before they managed to clear the area. Once that happened, they were sitting ducks.

A great distance away from the battle, much further than the range of even the most advanced sensors, the ZAFT land battleship _Lesseps_ took aim with its main cannons and fired, its target none other than the _Archangel_ itself.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

"Incoming heat source from the southwest!" Chandra called out. "It's a cannon round, projected firing distance twenty kilometers!"

"Take us up, commence evasive maneuvers!" Murrue ordered, Neumann wasting no time in moving the massive warship in an attempt to evade the cannon rounds.

"Second wave incoming!" Chandra said in alarm.

"What?" Murrue said, shocked. "Helm, engines at maximum!"

"There's no time!" Neumann replied.

* * *

Desert Battlefield

"No! The _Archangel_!" Kira shouted. He grit his teeth. He had already failed that little girl from before... he wouldn't fail again!

_'I won't let a tragedy like that happen ever again!'_

An amethyst jewel-like seed erupted behind Kira's eyes in a brilliant explosion of color and light.

"Chris, Liz! Give me a bit of cover!" he said. The siblings obliged, transforming to mobile suit mode and firing on the BuCUEs and Agiles, taking out two of the helicopters while driving the BuCUEs back.

Using the opportunity, the Strike boosted upwards, hefting its beam sniper rifle. It took careful aim and fired three shots, the emerald beams piercing every cannon round before they reached their target.

Waltfeld's eyes widened, as did the eyes of Mu and the _Archangel_'s bridge crew, who were also watching. The Strike seemed completely different. It was already performing exceedingly well on unfamiliar terrain, but right now it was almost in a league of its own.

Kira landed the Strike back on the ground, but grimaced as he glanced at his power readouts. He only had around two minutes or so left of energy, and he had no doubt that Chris and Liz were in similar situations.

Taking a look at his radar, he grit his teeth. There were still three BuCUEs out there. Those four Agiles weren't making their situation any better, either.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

"Captain!" Mir called out. "All our mobile suits are running dangerously low on power! Estimated time remaining is one-hundred twenty-seven seconds!"

"Can we provide them fire support?" Murrue asked, though she already knew it just by glancing out the forward viewports.

Romero Pal shook his head. "Not in this situation... we might end up hitting them out there," he said.

"Chris... Kira... Liz..." Flay whispered as she watched the battle on her monitor.

* * *

Desert Battlefield

"The proper timing and application of force is the surest way to victory, Waltfeld. Even a needle, if used correctly... can paralyze a man... or kill him!"

Four shots rang out across the desert in quick succession. In an instant, three Agiles exploded, as did the railgun barrel of a BuCUE. All eyes turned to the source of the shots, eyes widening in surprise as a GINN High Maneuver Type, a tan camouflage cloak draped over it, rose from its position, its crimson monoeye scanning the battlefield.

"Amazing... that sniper just took out four targets from that distance, and in a span of two seconds..." DaCosta said in shock.

Waltfeld grinned, shaking his head. "This battlefield's just littered with excellent snipers..." he replied. "It's been a while since I've seen marksmen this skilled."

As if on cue, a band of jeeps emerged from behind a sand dune, firing missiles and RPGs at the remaining ZAFT forces. While inferior to the BuCUEs' weapons, they were still able to cause a distraction, as well as eliminate the last remaining Agile.

One of the jeeps screeched to a halt near the Strike. One of its passengers rose up slightly and fired a comm cable at the mobile suit's leg.

_"Pilot of the Earth Forces mobile suit, listen up! If you want to live, then follow my instructions!"_ a voice said. _"I'm sending you coordinates. We've set up a trap for the BuCUEs over there. Just lure them over, and we'll do the rest."_

_"You have _got _to be kidding me,"_ Chris said in disbelief.

_"Brother? In case you haven't noticed, we're in trouble, and those guys have a GINN High Maneuver Type. I think we should give it a shot,"_ Liz said. _"What about you, Kira?"_

"I don't think we have much of a choice. We're almost out of power, so we should take on whatever help we can get," he said.

The three mobile suits took to the air, making a beeline for the specified location. The resistance jeeps spread out, but otherwise still made their way for the same destination. The Strike landed on the trap area, while the Raven and Guardian split off, circling around to face the pursuing BuCUEs. As soon as the Strike was within reach, the BuCUEs leaped at the mobile suit. The Raven swooped in and took hold of the Strike, pulling up and away from the trap area.

Waltfeld frowned at the mobile suits' strange tactics before his eyes widened in sudden realization. He was too late to do anything, as the trap was sprung. The hidden explosives detonated, consuming the remaining BuCUEs in a massive fireball.

The Raven dropped the Strike off, before transforming into mobile suit mode and landing right next to it. The Guardian set down in mobile suit mode next to them, and, as if on cue, the three machines powered down as the last of their power was drained.

Waltfeld turned away. "DaCosta, we're leaving," he said. "We've achieved our immediate objective."

* * *

A short while later

The _Archangel_ had set itself down next to its three mobile suits, near where the members of the resistance group Desert Dawn had gathered. The GINN High Maneuver Type from earlier set itself down, its pilot clambering out to join his comrades. Murrue and Mu had disembarked from the _Archangel_ and were now on their way to meet with the resistance group, particularly the people at the fore who appeared to be the group's leaders.

"It's only proper that I thank you for earlier," Murrue said, stopping short of the guerrillas. "Your actions earlier saved us."

Pausing for a moment, she continued. "I'm Lt. Commander Murrue Ramius, captain of the ship you see before you. My ship is assigned as part of the 8th Orbital Fleet."

"The 8th Fleet?" one of the younger guerrillas asked. He looked no older than Liz, at the very most. "I heard they were wiped out."

Murrue felt a pang of pain shoot through her, but she hid any reaction from her expression.

The bearded man in the middle of the group held up a hand, silencing the younger member.

"Our group is known as Desert Dawn," he said. "I go by the name of Sahib Ashman. There is no need to thank us. I'm sure you understand this already, but we were not necessarily fighting to save you. However, we share a common enemy, so that, in a sense, puts us on the same side."

"You guys going up against the Desert Tiger?" Mu asked. "I guess you've been fighting for a while, huh?"

Sahib glanced at Mu. "I recognize you... but I cannot say how or from where."

"That's Mu La Flaga, the Earth Alliance's famed Hawk of Endymion," a man in a black pilot suit said as he walked over, his piercing gray eyes locking with Mu's own.

The man extended his hand to Mu. "I'm Victor Cain, the pilot of this GINN you see here. I used to be part of ZAFT's Alaric Team, but now I'm just a merc working for Desert Dawn."

Mu shook the pilot's hand. "One of Alaric's guys, eh? I had a feeling that GINN looked familiar."

"That I was..." Victor said. "Until he was killed. And, although I have nothing but the utmost respect for Miss Kessel, the Black Hawk is my one, true commander. So, I took my GINN and left ZAFT. I've been fighting as a mercenary ever since."

"You strike me as well-informed people," Murrue said. "Do you know who we are?"

"You are the crew of the Earth Forces' newest warship, the _Archangel_," Sahib answered. "You came to Earth to escape the pursuit of the Le Creuset Team. Those three machines are-"

"The X105 Strike, the X302 Raven, and the X308 Guardian," a blond girl answered. Sahib frowned, stepping between the Earth Forces officers and the girl before anything else could be said or done.

The three mobile suit pilots seemed to recognize the girl from before, but could not place where, exactly, they had seen her.

"So, here we are. How good it is... that you know who we are and we know who you are," Sahib said. "I am surprised, though, to see you here. I assume that your landing in Africa was an accident. I'm curious as to what you plan to do next."

"Can we count on your complete cooperation?" Murrue asked, eliciting a bit of a smirk from Sahib.

"If you truly are serious about talking, then you should disarm," he said. Gesturing towards the mobile suits, he continued. "That goes for them as well."

Murrue let out a breath. She had no doubt they would do anything unless someone was threatened, but she was not about to put the entire ship at risk over this.

"Very well," she said, before talking into the small radio she kept on her lapel. "Ensign Yamato, Ensign Dante... um... the both of you... come down here."

The three pilots chuckled at Murrue's words as they unbuckled themselves before opening the cockpit hatches. They stepped out, grabbing the zip lines to take them down to the ground.

As the three pilots approached, Kira took his helmet off first. Needless to say, the resistance fighters were shocked to see someone so young at the helm of something as powerful as the Strike. The shock of seeing Kira made it a little less startling when the two Dantes took off their helmets, but it was still a surprise, nonetheless.

Only one person was not shocked. No, the blond-haired girl was absolutely furious after seeing Kira's face. She rushed towards the brunet, a death glare in her eyes.

"I knew it. It was you, after all," she said as she threw a punch at Kira. The pilot quickly stepped back, grabbing her wrist with his free hand. "Let go of me!" she demanded, but Kira only tightened his grip as the blond struggled. Pulling the girl closer to him, it finally dawned on Kira who it was.

"I remember now..." he said quietly. "You're that girl... the one we met at Morgenroete..." Recognition crossed the eyes of Chris and Liz, who both realized that Kira was right. That was indeed where they had seen this girl.

"Yeah, I remember..." Chris said. "I mistook her for a boy, actually..."

He was rewarded there with the girl trying to lash out with her fist, only for her to get reined in by Kira's powerful grip.

Liz facepalmed. "Chris... you idiot..." she said. "Why don't you think before you say something for once?"

* * *

A few hours later

Desert Dawn Main Camp

"This is our front line base. Our homes are located in the towns," Sahib explained. "Well, the towns that ZAFT hasn't burned to the ground yet. Tassil, Moula, and even as far as Banadiya... our group is composed of volunteers, except for Mr. Cain, who's a mercenary we found and hired." He paused to pour some coffee into a pot. "Coffee, anyone?"

Victor took the cup and took a sip. He winced and immediately spat it out on the ground. "All right, who made that swill?" he asked in annoyance. "If you can't even make a halfway pot of coffee, then don't even bother making it."

With that said, he poured the entire pot's contents out on the ground and started on a fresh pot.

Sahib shook his head, whether out of frustration or mirth, no one could tell. "You'll have to forgive Mr. Cain. He's an excellent strategist and most likely the best marksman alive... But he has an _eccentric_ love of coffee."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with wanting a good cup of coffee in the morning."

"You average a dozen cups a day," Sahib countered, deadpan.

"Okay, fine... there's nothing wrong with wanting a good cup of coffee in the morning, afternoon, and evening."

Sahib sighed and shook his head again, before walking over to the table in the center of the command room.

"So, what's her name?" Mu asked, motioning to the fiery blond girl.

"We call her the Goddess of Victory," Sahib replied.

Victor chuckled. "And I call her the Overemotional Goddess."

Said blond growled in annoyance, picking up a cup and throwing it right at him. Victor, his eyes never leaving the pot he was working on, ducked the first cup, before catching a second cup and tossing it right back, the blond almost dropping the cup as she fumbled with it.

"See? What did I tell you? Overemotional," he said. Scowling, the girl left the room.

"That was fairly impressive, Mr. Cain," Mu said. "Coordinator or not, that was not bad at all. However, that still didn't answer my question. What's her name?"

"She gave the name Cagalli Yula," Victor replied.

Sahib cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention back. "While domination over this area belongs to ZAFT, they don't have enough forces to control the entire desert," he said. "Even with that, they conquered Victoria three days ago, and have been steadily increasing their area of control."

"Victoria? It's fallen as well...?" Natarle asked.

"Yeah, that it has," Victor said. "It was a shame, though. It ruined a pretty nice contract with the Earth Forces..."

"Oh, is that so?" Mu asked.

Victor nodded. "Yeah, I was supposed to have reported in at Victoria," he said. "They were going to send me up to join the 8th Fleet. I'm guessing that they were going to have me join your merry little crew. But, the ZAFT high command had to ruin that little plan. So, that's why I'm here."

"Generally, the African community of the region has always sided with ZAFT," Sahib explained. "The South African Union, however, has resisted ZAFT as best as they could. But, the Earth Forces abandoned them in the end. The front lines are being pushed back further and further every day."

"But, that hasn't stopped you guys from fighting, has it?" Mu remarked.

Sahib leveled a hard glare at the blond man. "As we see it, ZAFT and the Earth Forces are the same thing. All they do is come in to take away what is rightfully ours."

"From a personal standpoint, that's something I agree with," Victor said. "No matter what side you're on, the higher ups in a military organization see their soldiers as nothing more than pawns in a bid for total conquest."

"That's true," Mu said, remembering the tragic events at Endymion Crater that had claimed the lives of the entire Moebius Zero squadron - all of them save him perished in that battle.

"Moving on, let's talk about here and now," Victor said, pouring himself a cup from the newly brewed pot of coffee. "How well does the _Archangel_ fare inside the atmosphere? Coffee, anyone?"

Mu took a cup, as did Sahib, while Murrue and Natarle declined.

"It... can't fly at very high altitudes," Natarle replied.

Sahib nodded. "Then you will have a problem," he said. "If you can't fly over mountain ranges, then your only viable option would be to break through Gibraltar."

"And that, my friends, is suicide at your current battle strength," Victor remarked. "There _is_ one other option, though. It's potentially just as dangerous as Gibraltar, but it's certainly much more doable."

"And what would that option be?" Murrue asked.

"The other option would be to take the Red Sea out into the Indian Ocean, then just proceed to the Pacific Ocean from there," Victor said. "However, you face one critical obstacle in your path, one that could be your undoing."

"That would be...?" Mu asked, prompting a dangerous, predatory smirk from Victor.

"Andrew Waltfeld, ZAFT's Desert Tiger."

* * *

Later that night

The _Archangel_'s Hangar

_'I have to get stronger,'_ Kira thought as he typed at a furious pace, almost enough to burn the keyboard out. _'If I don't... we might not survive the next battle...'_

"Hmph. I know that look. That's the look of someone who thinks he's the only one who can protect his ship and everyone else on board."

Kira looked around the Strike's monitor. Standing there was Victor Cain, the mercenary aligned with Desert Dawn. "Hi there. I don't think we've been introduced yet. I'm Victor Cain. Want some coffee?"

"Um... sure, thank you. I'm Kira, Kira Yamato."

The raven-haired mercenary passed the young brunet a mug of coffee, and the two simply drank for a minute or so.

"You know, it's only going to get worse," Victor suddenly said, breaking the silence.

"What?"

"If you spend all your time either fighting or working on your machine, you'll burn out before too long," Victor said. "When that happens, you won't be able to protect anyone, not even yourself."

"But-"

"But you're the only one who can protect the ship? That's a load of crap, and you know it. Everyone on this ship is fighting as well, kid. You've got friends on all sides. There's no reason you should take on the load on your own."

"No, it's not that," Kira replied. "But, I realize that, although the Raven and Guardian are also powerful on their own, I think I should make sure that the Strike won't get caught flat-footed in any situation. I just don't want another mess like last night to happen again."

"You make a point there, kid. True, there's nothing wrong with spending a bit of time on the Strike tuning it," Victor replied. "But resting and having a good meal is also part of your duties, not as a soldier, but as a person. If you keep working on the Strike day in and day out, the stress is eventually going to destroy you if the enemy doesn't get to you first. Take the siblings who pilot those other two machines. Chris is spending a fair amount of time with that redhead, teaching her martial arts and how to defend herself. Liz is spending some time with your other friends, and right now all of them are enjoying dinner."

Victor sighed. "Listen, Kira. Go, and join your friends," he said. "It'll do some good for you, trust me. I'll pull you out of the Strike and lock it up if that's what it takes to make you go."

"Okay, I'm going, I'm going," Kira said. "Thanks, Mr. Cain."

"Save it, it's not necessary," Victor replied, watching the young pilot leave. As soon as he was out of sight and hearing, Victor took a look at the Strike's open cockpit.

"All right... might as well see what makes you tick, big guy."

* * *

Outside Tassil

"The entire town is asleep, sir," DaCosta said.

"There are those who'd put them to sleep... permanently," Waltfeld replied as he gazed out at the town. "There are even those who like that approach... but I'm not one of them. Give them a warning, and we'll attack fifteen minutes after you return." After a moment, he turned to his aide. "Well? Go on, warn them."

"Y-yes, sir," DaCosta replied, getting into his own jeep and speeding off for the town.

"That's very considerate of you, Commander Waltfeld," Leon commented from his seat in the back of Waltfeld's jeep.

Waltfeld sighed heavily. "It's only natural, really," he replied. "These may be the homes of our enemies... but the only people here are innocents. This is a war, but that doesn't mean we have to kill people who have no quarrel with us."

Leon nodded, a pained look in his eyes as he looked out over the town that was soon to be burning.

_'Commander Waltfeld... he's honorable enough to spare these people... but still...'_ he thought. _'To have to burn down their homes... is there really no better alternative to luring these guerrillas and the legged ship out?'_

The golden-brown-haired pilot clenched his fist. "Dammit..." he whispered. "This isn't right!"

* * *

Approximately twenty minutes later

Desert Dawn Main Camp

The entire group from Heliopolis was gathered around one of the many campfires spread out across the rebel camp, eating dinner and sharing stories.

"Things really have taken a strange turn, haven't they?" Sai said. "Who would've thought we'd end up in a guerrilla camp of all places?"

"I think it still beats being alone in the desert with no one but ZAFT forces to keep us company," Liz replied with an amused tone.

"That's true," Sai said. "But I still think it's pretty strange."

Chris nodded. "Well, strange things happen in life," he said. "Some, you can explain... and some... well, you can't. It's like the story ab-"

"The sky! It's burning!" a guerrilla suddenly shouted, interrupting Chris and drawing the entire camp's attention.

"It's coming from Tassil!" another guerrilla shouted, sending the entire camp into a panic. The kids stood up, seeing that, indeed, the sky was lit brightly in a particular direction, a column of smoke rising from the general direction. Fear gripped them all - fear for what may have been a slaughter of innocent civilians.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, that's the end of this chapter. School's out, so hopefully I can build up some momentum and begin piling on the chapters.**

**Hopefully, I was able to integrate Leon Vanyel and Tomoyo Asahara into this chapter well enough. If you like it, or even if you don't, just let me know what you think I can do to improve. I'm open to suggestions, really, as long as that's all they are: suggestions. If I feel like you're ordering me around, I'll pay it no heed.**

**I hope all my readers enjoyed this chapter. They are what keep me writing.**

**Your reviews are ALWAYS, ALWAYS appreciated. You keep me motivated to deliver better chapters, and to write them faster. For all who are reading, I hope you'll have enough of a heart to leave a review, even just to let me know how I'm doing. I truly appreciate those who do.**

**Well, that's that. Ja ne, minna-san!**

* * *

**Burning Clouds of Sand** Mecha Spec Page

_"Whether from afar or from up close, my enemies will never see me coming... and if they do, I'll be the last thing they see!" _– Victor Cain's personal creed

**ZGMF-1017MX GINN High Maneuver Type (Cain Custom)**  
Description:  
A GINN High Maneuver Type Custom belonging to former Alaric Team pilot Victor Cain. He left his team following the death of the unit's commander, John Alaric. Aside from his incredible marksmanship, tactical ability, and love of coffee, not much else is known about him, or his machine.

**Model Number:** ZGMF-1017MX  
**Code Name:** GINN High Maneuver Type (Cain Custom)  
**Unit Type:** customized high-mobility mobile suit**  
Manufacturer:** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty)**  
Operator(s):** ZAFT**  
First Deployment:** C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** overall height 21.13 meters**  
Weight:** max gross weight 80.41 metric tons**  
Armor Materials:** unknown**  
Power Plant:** ultracompact energy battery, power output rating unknown**  
Design Features:** sensors, range unknown; lightwave pulse thrusters  
**Fixed Armaments:** 2 x MA-M4A heavy sword, stored on back, hand-carried in use  
2 x MA-K2D assault knife, concealed in forearm armor  
**Optional Hand Armaments:** JDP2-MMX22 experimental 22mm armor assault rifle, mounts MA-M3 heavy sword as bayonet  
MMI-M7LRS 76mm anti-armor sniper rifle  
**Pilot:** Victor Cain

**Appearance:** It is identical to other GINN High Maneuver Types.  
**Color:** Gray with black trim.

**Notes:** It's basically the same mobile suit as what you've seen before. There aren't any major differences that make it stand out compared to the other incarnations, except maybe the fact that I've mounted assault knives in the GINN's forearms. Aside from that, it's still the same sniper-oriented GINN it has been.


	11. Phase 11: Payback

**Damn, I really need to put my head down... in the best-case scenario, I can finish the Desert Arc (and hopefully the next arc after) in record time, like... before the end of my vacation. I'm playing some serious catch-up now (primarily because school is finally no longer tying my hands).**

**At any rate, please... enjoy. And I thank all those who reviewed during the last chapter.**

**Disclaimer: It's the same story as before... for now, at least. Check the previous chapter for it.**

* * *

Phase Eleven: Payback

February 16, C.E. 71

* * *

Desert Dawn Main Camp

"Dammit, did that maniac really just burn down Tassil?" Victor asked as he ran up to Kira, Chris, and Liz.

"A maniac? I've heard the Tiger's just a bit touched in the head, but..." Chris asked, but trailed off upon seeing the look that crossed Victor's eyes.

"Touched in the head? No, he's borderline insane," Victor replied, his eyes narrowing as he gazed at the columns of smoke. "He's a good guy, but this isn't the sort of thing he'd normally resort to. What the hell is going through that guy's head, I wonder..." Victor shook his head. "Bah, what am I doing? Now's not the time for that. You three should get ready for sortie, just in case. I'll head on ahead to Tassil to check on everything."

Kira nodded. "The Raven and Guardian should go on ahead, seeing as they can fly unaided. I'll hold the fort until we can get a better read on the situation."

Chris and Liz nodded, and with that the four pilots went their ways, heading for their machines.

* * *

Outskirts of Tassil

"Is everything done?" Were there any casualties?" Waltfeld asked as DaCosta made his return. Leon had already taken another jeep back, stating that he felt some of his injuries acting up. Waltfeld, however, knew the real reason: he refused to be a part of this. A soldier he may be, but Waltfeld could clearly see that Leon followed a creed of honor, one that did not allow attacking civilian targets.

"Why would there be, sir? We... weren't exactly fighting anyone," DaCosta replied. Waltfeld's eye twitched slightly.

"I meant it in general, DaCosta. I wasn't just referring to our own troops."

"Ah... pardon me, Commander," DaCosta replied, slightly rattled. "Well, there may have been someone who stumbled or got singed by the heat, but there wasn't anything severe or life-threatening."

Waltfeld nodded. "Good, then let's move out. The guerrillas will be arriving soon."

DaCosta suddenly seemed genuinely confused. "Sir? I thought the entire point was to ambush the guerrillas when they got here."

"Are you serious, DaCosta?" Waltfeld replied. "That's not really fair, is it? We already burned down their homes... I don't think we need to do any more today."

"But-"

"That will be all. Our objective has been achieved," Waltfeld announced. "Relay that to the men. Tell them that we'll be withdrawing now."

"Yes, sir," DaCosta replied, seeing that his commander was dead-set on his current course of action.

* * *

Tassil

The resistance jeeps drove for the burning town as fast as their engines could take them, with Mu's Skygrasper flying overhead. Victor's GINN HM Type was hitching a ride on the Raven, with the Guardian flying forward air cover for the vulnerable guerrillas.

As soon as the town came into sight, a horrible, burning anger bubbled up within the hearts of the Desert Dawn fighters. Wherever they looked, destruction was all that abounded.

"This is..." Mu said as he circled the town. "There's nothing but destruction every which way."

_"Huh? Hold on... what's this?"_ Liz said as she spotted a large group of people near the town's outskirts. _"Chris, Lieutenant... are you seeing this?"_

_"Yeah, I see them,"_ Chris replied as he maneuvered the Raven over the group, Victor's GINN leaping off to slowly descend towards the populace. _"Looks like the survivors... it's quite a number, considering that ZAFT just burned that town to the ground."_

"_Archangel_, this is La Flaga," Mu reported. "We've spotted what appears to be a group of survivors from the town... or rather... a large number of unharmed people. How or why, I can't say."

_"Any sign of the enemy?"_ Murrue asked.

_"Nothing's coming up on all readings,"_ Chris replied. _"I think we can assume they've already left the area."_

_"All right,"_ Murrue said. _"Still, keep an eye out, at any rate. The Tiger knows the land better than we do."_

"Roger that, Captain," Mu said.

Below the patrolling fighter and mobile armors, the jeeps of Desert Dawn had come to a halt near the survivors, both groups greeting each other with relief. Mu landed the Skygrasper near where Victor had landed his GINN, the Raven and Guardian transforming to mobile suit mode and landing as well.

"Commander!" Natarle called out, her own jeep grinding to a halt as Mu swung out of the Skygrasper's cockpit. "What's going on?"

"I don't know..." Mu said as Chris and Liz walked over. "There are far too many people to call them 'survivors'. My guess is that the Tiger spared the populace..."

Chris frowned. "If you think of it that way, it seems logical..." he said, watching as Sahib directed the resistance fighters and the civilians. "But I don't understand why the Tiger would go through the trouble."

Just then, a certain blond lost her temper.

"That dirty, mangy dog!" Cagalli shouted. "What the hell is going through that maniac's head? What he did was just the same as if he killed everyone outright!"

"Survival is still an option right now," Mu said. "As long as you're alive, you should try to keep living."

"What?" Sahib breathed, looking at Mu in bewilderment. Cagalli also looked at the mobile armor ace, but with a murderous look in her eye.

"I don't think the Tiger sees you as enough of a threat to engage you in a serious battle," Mu said.

"Explain, Hawk of Endymion," Sahib said.

"Well, I'd say this is most likely his form of payback after what you did the other night when you helped us out," Mu replied. "Considering what happened, it's pretty generous of the Tiger to let you off with something as comparatively minor as this."

"Minor? Are you kidding me?" Cagalli shouted, rushing right up into Mu's face. "That bastard just burned down Tassil, and you call it minor? Does burning a town down mean absolutely nothing to you? How the hell can a person who resorts to doing this be called generous?"

Chris and Liz sighed simultaneously, both putting a hand to their forehead. As soon as that girl had opened her mouth, they had, by mutual silent agreement, decided to _not_ get involved in this conversation. She was far too stubborn and difficult to really reason with. They could see now that Victor had been quite accurate when he'd called her the "Overemotional Goddess".

"What you fail to understand is that these guys are professional soldiers," Victor countered, coming to Mu's rescue. "It would have been much easier and simpler for them if they had burned down Tassil with everyone still in it. And the thing is, most land-based commanders on both sides of this war would not have hesitated to do so."

"That's what I meant," Mu said. "If anyone took offense, then I apologize for my inappropriate wording. However, Mr. Cain clarifies my point. If they had really wanted to, and if they were dead serious, we would have found nothing more than a bloodbath when we got here."

"That guy's nothing but a lousy, cowardly excuse for a human being," Cagalli said. "He burns down this town while we're not even here and calls it a victory? Every time we go into battle, we manage to fight with courage! We were even able to destroy their BuCUEs in that last operation! That's why that jerk can only get back at us with something as low as this! To hell with the Desert Tiger!"

At that point, both Dante siblings felt an eye twitch. _'Weren't _we_ the ones who lured the two survivors into their trap in the first place?'_ they thought in perfect synchronization._ 'Not to mention that the two they destroyed were the ones we had already damaged. It's hard to see how she can be so prideful when we did all the hard work...'_

"You're wrong, Cagalli," Victor replied. "The Tiger doesn't call this a victory. He calls this a merciful punishment. Besides, what do _you_ know of war and honor? Do you really expect the Tiger to sit back and watch when his men die on the battlefield? No... honor demands that he avenge them. And he did just that... he avenged their deaths... in the most painless way possible. Tell me, Cagalli, what would you do in his position?"

"I..."

"A band of rebels just ambushed and killed several men under your command. You now have the dubious distinction of writing to their families that their loved ones are dead. You also don't know where the rebels' main base is located, so you can't attack them directly. So, what would you do?"

Victor shook his head. "Andrew Waltfeld did the most honorable thing he could have done," he said. "He attacked a town that supported the rebels... but not before he warned the civilian populace beforehand to give them the chance to escape. It might have been easier for him if he just wiped out any town he thinks is supporting us, but he went to these lengths to keep the number of lives lost to a bare minimum."

"I don't care! The Tiger's still a coward!" Cagalli shouted, glaring at Victor.

Several members of Desert Dawn, and even many of Tassil's refugees, shouted their agreements, sending their own glares at the mercenary. The three Earth Forces pilots noticed that Sahib and Kisaka were both unusually quiet.

Exasperated and at the end of his patience, Victor shook his head in disgust. "Tch. Suit yourselves. I'm being paid to fight, not to try to show you that you're all too blinded by anger to see things clearly."

With that, the mercenary stalked off towards his GINN, a cold air surrounding him.

As he passed by, Chris couldn't help but whistle lowly. "Man, that Victor has some serious guts, standing up to all those guys by himself..."

Liz nodded. "I'll wager he's more of a man than you are, Chris."

"Yeah, that's most likely - hey! What did you just say?"

* * *

Banadiya

"So that's what's bothering you, huh...?" Tomoyo asked. The doctor had still advised her to be on bed rest, even though her injuries were all healing nice and quickly. Next to her bed, Leon nodded, his arms crossed over his chest as he sat once again on the chair he'd used when she'd been unconscious. "I... can understand where you're coming from. I feel the same quite often, but... Leon, we're soldiers, and we're fighting a war right now."

"I know... I know that, Tomoyo. I'm a ZAFT soldier, and we're at war, but still..." he said. "Even if I try to bury it, I cannot accept the fact that, even if we gave the citizens time to evacuate, ZAFT forces just burned down an entire village." He suddenly stood up, his right hand so tightly clenched into a fist that he drew blood. "Why? What's the whole point of this war in the first place?" he asked, fire fiercely burning behind his icy blue gaze. "All we've got are two sides that refuse to accept each other! Because of that, more and more events like Junius Seven and Heliopolis and Tassil have to happen! There's no justice in that!

"I... sorry. I shouldn't be ranting like this... not at you, of all people..." he said, much quieter this time. "I just can't stand being so powerless to stop the fighting..."

"Leon, it's-"

"I... just need to calm down," he said, cutting Tomoyo off. "I normally don't get this worked up."

_'Something's wrong... he's acting... oddly.'_ But the silver-gray-haired girl did not press the issue, and let the other pilot sort himself out.

Leon heavily dropped into his chair, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, holding it for an eight count before letting it out. When his eyes had opened, Tomoyo gasped. One of his irises - his right eye - had turned blood red, but she could somehow see some flecks of gold intruding the crimson orb. The other iris had also started the transformation, almost half of it was already that same molten color. "Even if I manage to help win this war... it won't change the cycle of suffering and hatred, " Leon said, the manic energy from mere moments before having vanished. "What, then... should we be fighting against, Tomoyo?"

Tomoyo felt her heart ache at hearing Leon's words. The elite red coat was fighting this war purely out of duty. She unconsciously clasped both hands together as she sorted through the new insights in her partner's thought processes.

_'What should we be fighting against?'_ he had said. She could not provide an answer to Leon's question. Not just yet.

Leon's comm link suddenly came to life, snapping both pilots out of their internal reveries. Leon fished the comm out of his pocket and closed his eyes. He took a breath, and the conflicted young man vanished, to be replaced once again the elite soldier. "Vanyel here."

"Sir, you're wanted at the comm. center. Commander Waltfeld needs to talk to you."

Leon looked at Tomoyo. An exchange of nods later, and he replied. "Understood. I'm on my way now," he said before closing the line and replacing the comm, his feelings and misgivings once again hidden behind years of discipline. Before he made it out the door, Tomoyo called after him.

"Leon!"

The golden-brown-haired pilot turned halfway to regard her. "Come home safe, alright?" she said. Leon's eyes softened for a brief moment as he smiled, before he left.

"Thank you... Tomoyo..." he whispered out of earshot. "I will."

* * *

Ruins of Tassil

"Huh? Hey... Chris, look!" Liz suddenly said, pointing in the direction of the Desert Dawn fighters just as a loud roar erupted from the resistance group.

"This better not be - Oh," Chris suddenly stopped as he saw several resistance jeeps take off, heading into the desert. He noticed two more jeeps, with Sahib on one and Cagalli and Kisaka on the other, follow them. "That's not good. Are they _trying_ to get themselves killed?"

"I'm not sure, kid," Mu said as he walked over with Natarle. "But, I have to say... this is a place where both the land and the people get very heated. They were really fired up."

"They're going to get wiped out," Natarle said. "They can't beat those BuCUEs in a straight-up fight. Not with that kind of equipment."

"The most passionate people are oftentimes the most heroic," Victor said, appearing next to Mu. "However, it's also true that that same passion oftentimes clouds these people's better judgment. Anyways... what are you guys going to be doing?"

"Don't you mean what are _we_ going to be doing?" Liz asked. The mercenary shook his head in reply.

"No, because I know what I'm doing. I'm making sure I get paid," Victor said as he began to walk towards his GINN. "I would suggest you guys do the same. The _Archangel_ is safe for now, but if Sahib dies... you probably won't be making it out of this desert."

* * *

The _Archangel_

"They did _what_?" Murrue asked. "What they're doing is suicide! Why didn't you try to stop them, Commander?"

_"They were so fired up about it that if I'd tried to stop them, they'd probably have turned on us,"_ Mu replied from his Skygrasper. _"Cain's already gone ahead to try and bail them out, and he suggested we do the same. There's also a problem of supplies over here - especially food and water. What are your orders, Captain?"_

"We'll send out Kira and the Strike to pursue them," Murrue said. "Liz and the Guardian will follow Mr. Cain's GINN and meet up with Kira on the way there. That should be enough firepower to at least bail them out. Meanwhile, Commander La Flaga and Chris can help with delivering supplies."

_"Understood,"_ Kira replied. _"I'm launching now."_

_"Gotcha, Captain,"_ Mu said, grinning as he signed off.

Chris sighed. _"Roger that. I'm on my way back."_

_"You can count on me, Captain!"_ Liz replied, smiling as she touched two fingers to her brow in a mock salute.

* * *

Somewhere out in the African Desert

"Sir? Can't we move at least a little faster than this?" DaCosta asked as the ZAFT strike team proceeded at an almost leisurely pace through the desert.

"You really that eager to get back, DaCosta?" Waltfeld asked, grinning at his aide.

"At this speed, those guerrillas are going to catch up to us!" DaCosta said.

"If they catch up to us, then that can only mean we were destined to meet on the field of battle," Waltfeld replied, leaning his head back on his hands and closing his eyes. "Their artillery trucks are no match for our BuCUEs. When put to the test, I normally hear people saying things like "I'd rather die than give up". Tell me, DaCosta..." At this the ZAFT commander opened an eye to gaze at his subordinate. "Do you think those people truly mean it when they say such things?"

_"Commander,"_ the voice of the lead BuCUE's pilot came over the radio. _"We've... got vehicles approaching from the rear. We count... six - no, eight vehicles. They appear to belong to that resistance group."_

"W-what?" DaCosta said in surprise. Waltfeld, on the other hand, smiled enigmatically.

"Huh... I guess they'd rather die, after all..." he said. Some fifty meters behind the group, a band of jeeps flew over the dunes, firing rockets at Waltfeld's jeep. DaCosta heard the rockets flying at them and skillfully slew the jeep through a series of maneuvers over and around sand dunes, forcing rockets to overshoot or to hit the sand around the jeep.

"What now, Commander?" DaCosta asked.

"We have no choice now," Waltfeld replied. "We're fighting back. Alert Banadiya, and tell them to deploy the reserve force I assembled."

The BuCUEs accompanying the Desert Tiger now turned about to come at the Desert Dawn fighters. As soon as it began, it became painfully obvious what the outcome would be. The entire battle was a massacre. The rocket launchers and RPGs of the resistance fighters, while effective against tanks and other such vehicles, were simply no match against ZAFT's BuCUEs. The Desert Dawn fought valiantly, with Cagalli and Kisaka managing to even damage the foreleg of one BuCUE, but they were ultimately outclassed by the terrestrial mobile suits. There was no need to even fire their weapons, as the ZAFT pilots were simply content to just crush the jeeps under their mobile suits' feet or high-speed caterpillar tracks.

One such BuCUE had just crushed one of the resistance fighters' missile trucks, when another jeep, this one being Ahmed, Kisaka, and Cagalli's jeep, maneuvered underneath it. Both Kisaka and Cagalli fired grenades into the BuCUE's vulnerable underbelly. The grenades exploded, rocking the BuCUE, but did not make any substantial damage aside from burning off some paint.

The BuCUE reduced its speed, slipping in behind the jeep, and raised a leg.

Kisaka quickly grabbed Cagalli. "Jump off!" he shouted as he leaped off of the vehicle.

"Huh?" Ahmed said, only a moment before the BuCUE's foot crashed into the jeep, sending both the vehicle and its driver into the air.

"AHMED!" Cagalli cried as the BuCUE turned its attention to them. However, a rocket smashed into its side, drawing its attention elsewhere.

Sahib's jeep appeared, with Sahib himself shouldering a pair of rocket launchers. He fired one, then the other. Both rockets struck the BuCUE, drawing it away from the defenseless Cagalli and Kisaka. Sahib's jeep managed to evade its initial charge, giving the guerrilla leader a time to scan the battlefield.

One BuCUE had been downed earlier, but was already managing to stand once more. A third BuCUE still waited near the Tiger's jeep, having largely avoided combat. But, strewn around the entire area were the remains of his vengeance-driven men. He closed his eyes in regret and frustration at their meaningless deaths, before a voice startled him out of his reverie.

"Sahib!"

The large man turned and shouldered another rocket launcher, aiming it at the approaching BuCUE. If he could just hit its monoeye, then maybe...

A shot rang out across the desert as a bullet tore through the BuCUE's head, blinding it. A second bullet pierced its missile launcher, causing the weapon to explode.

All eyes looked to see a gray GINN HM Type, its crimson monoeye scanning the battlefield.

* * *

Onboard the GINN, Victor narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Come on! You want someone to play with?" he said. "Fine, why don't you try me on for size?"

A proximity alarm sounded within the cockpit, forcing Victor to turn, an act which saved the GINN as missiles shot through where it had been standing just a moment earlier, destroying only the mobile suit's sniper rifle. Victor looked up at the source of the shot, and saw a pair of BuCUEs approaching him.

"Damn, were they hiding?" Victor muttered as he drew both of his GINN's heavy swords. He goosed the GINN's thrusters into action propelling it towards the pair. Normally, one mobile suit going head to head against two was suicide, especially in this terrain, where the unstable sand favored the ground-based BuCUEs over the space-oriented GINN.

_'But... if those guys think the same... then I may just have my opening...'_ Victor thought. He pushed the throttle as high as they would go, and his GINN surged forward, both swords drawn back. As the BuCUEs leapt up into the air, Victor crossed both swords across the GINN's chest. The BuCUE pilots, unable to do anything in the air, desperately fired at the GINN. Victor smirked as he ducked under the cannon slugs and missiles, before boosting up and bringing his swords up and out, severing a wing, a cannon barrel and a leg from one, while he pierced the power plant of the other, destroying it.

The proximity alarm sounded once more as Victor landed, before a BuCUE crashed into the GINN, sending it sprawling to the ground.

* * *

DaCosta's eyes widened as he glanced at the sensor readouts. "Commander, we've got a heat source approaching! It's-"

He never finished his sentence as an emerald dart of energy sliced through the air, impacting with the sand near a BuCUE that was closing in on Victor's downed GINN. The eyes of the surviving members of Desert Dawn widened, as did those of the ZAFT pilots. Waltfeld, on the other hand, merely smiled.

On approach were the Aile Strike and the Guardian, with the Strike standing atop the Guardian's mobile armor mode.

* * *

_"Kira, you missed?"_ Liz asked in surprise. Considering his marksmanship the night before, it was quite a shock to see Kira missing a shot like that, especially with a stationary target.

"Hmm... the heat convection must be causing the problem," Kira said as he leaped the Strike off of the Guardian, taking the air time to reprogram the OS to factor in the heat convection in the targeting systems before sending the corrections to Liz. He quickly fired as the Strike dropped, the shot piercing a BuCUE's missile pod before a shot from the Guardian's hyper-impulse rifle blew right through the quadrupedal mobile suit, destroying it.

"Are you alright, Mr. Cain?" Kira asked as the Strike landed next to the GINN, which had risen back to its feet. The Guardian dropped down next to the Strike, in mobile suit mode.

_"Don't worry, I'm still functional,"_ Victor replied. _"While we're at it, just call me Victor. Hearing you kids call me 'Mr. Cain' just makes me feel older than I actually am."_

Before Kira could reply, a warning sounded throughout the three cockpits. All three machines evaded as a beam pierced the space where the Strike had been standing, their pilots quickly turning to the source of the beam shot.

There, with its rifle still aimed directly at them, stood the GAT-X207 Sentinel, its crimson eyes glowing with the fiery spirit of a warrior. The three pilots tensed, ready to dodge the Sentinel's next shot. To the surprise of those present, however, it stored its beam rifle, and took hold of both beam glaives and combined them into their double beam glaive form. Using its left hand, it raised the weapon up, leveled it directly at the three mobile suits, and activated the weapon: a direct challenge to a duel.

"That's..." Kira muttered. The odds were certainly stacked up against them.

_"The Sentinel,"_ Victor finished. _"I can't believe one of the stolen units ended up here. Ah, dammit... if that thing enters the fight, then we're finished. Listen, I'll draw its attention, while you kids finish off the BuCUEs." _The GINN began walking, preparing to face off against the Gundam._ "Hopefully, if I'm not dead, we'll be able to-"_

_"You back up Kira, Mr. Cain,"_ Liz suddenly said as the Guardian stepped in front of the GINN. _"I'll take this guy on."_

"Liz?" Kira breathed.

_"I think Chris and this guy have a bit of a rivalry going,"_ she replied. _"I'll stand in for my brother since he's not around. Besides, Victor's weapons are going to be ineffective against the Sentinel's Phase Shift Armor."_

"But..."

_"Please, Kira,"_ Liz said. Kira sighed, before nodding. When faced with such determination, how could he say 'no'?

"Right," he replied, earning a grin from Liz. "Just... be careful, alright? Because if something happens to you..."

_"Chris will have both our hides. Yeah, I know,"_ she replied easily. _"Just do your thing, and I'll do mine, alright?"_

With that said, Liz focused her attention on the Sentinel. She drew one of the Guardian's beam sabers and activated it, the purple blade held at the ready in the mobile suit's left hand, while the Sentinel twirled its double glaive around so that it was now angled across its body, held in both hands. Time seemed to slow, and even pause, as both machines waited for the other to make the first move, or show the first opening. The guerrillas of Desert Dawn held their breaths, while Cagalli even began chewing on the flesh of her index finger.

The silence was broken when both mobile suits, as if on silent, mutual agreement, activated their thrusters and lunged forward. As soon as they reached optimum range, they struck: the Sentinel slashed upwards from its lower left, while the Guardian countered with an overhead swing.

The two Gundams met in a clash of sparks and willpower, but neither pilot was willing to stay in the deadlock for too long. Liz pushed the Sentinel off and performed a horizontal swipe with her beam saber, aiming to take out the Sentinel's head, but the cerulean Gundam spun, using the other end of its double glaive to intercept the blow. Continuing the move, the ZAFT mobile suit attempted a slice through the left arm of Liz's mobile suit.

In an instinctive move, Liz hit the Guardian's thrusters and leaped back, firing two shots from the mobile suit's rifle. The Sentinel deflected one beam away with the front end of the double glaive before spinning the weapon and slicing through the sand, tossing up a makeshift barrier to absorb the second shot. With her sensors blinded, Liz expected the Sentinel to burst out of the cloud and catch her off balance. She raised the Guardian's rifle in anticipation and prepared to fire.

However, instead of the Sentinel, a fast-moving object shot out of the sand cloud and latched onto the Guardian's hyper-impulse rifle. Liz's eyes widened as she recognized the Sentinel's Ouroboros grappler claw. She quickly let go of the Guardian's hyper-impulse rifle and brought her shield up right before the Ouroboros' short-range plasma beam cannon discharged, blowing her rifle to bits.

* * *

In spite of himself, Leon smiled slightly. The impromptu barrier he'd thrown up may have been meant to take the shot, but it had also given him some precious seconds where his movements were hidden. The rapidly dissipating cloud of flame and gas that was the Guardian's hyper impulse rifle was testament to his success.

"Looks like it's time to go for the jugular..." he muttered, and suited actions to words by gunning his thrusters and blasting through the cloud as the extended Ouroboros claw retracted back onto the Sentinel's left arm. As the distance between himself and the Guardian shrank, Leon split the double beam glaive and stored it before activating the Ouroboros' beam blades, unleashing the two blades of azure fire.

Leon estimated the best distance for attack and took his chance, raising the Sentinel's left hand blade and bringing it down on the Guardian. The Guardian countered by drawing its second beam saber and crossing the two sabers over its head, stopping the powerful beam blade. Leon smiled grimly - the enemy mobile suit had done as he'd anticipated. Leon drew the second blade back, ready to strike.

However, before Leon could take his killing thrust, the Guardian shifted the deadlocked sabers to its left side, dragging the Sentinel along with it and bringing it out of line. The mobile suit's large beam blade impacted with the sand, leaving the Sentinel immobilized and momentarily vulnerable. The Guardian spun, ready to strike with the saber in its right hand.

In a split-second reaction, Leon deactivated the trapped left arm blade and twisted the Sentinel around with surprising speed, snapping his mobile suit's right arm up. The Guardian's beam saber bounced harmlessly against the Sentinel's beam blade as Leon completed the wide, impossibly quick swing, batting away the offending weapon as if it was a mere toy. Leon continued the Sentinel's spin, using the momentum to swing with the left arm Ouroboros, making jagged tears in the Guardian's shield and the forearm armor beneath it.

"Feigning vulnerability isn't easy..." Leon said. "But it's certainly worth the effort. Let's finish this!"

* * *

Meanwhile...

The fallen BuCUE that had been damaged during the Desert Dawn's initial attack finally managed to regain use of its damaged foreleg, its servomotors and other mechanisms finally coming back into alignment. Its pilot was about to rejoin the fight when Waltfeld's command jeep drove up to it.

"Kirkwood, let me pilot that BuCUE," Waltfeld said over the comm.

_"Sir?"_ "Commander?" came the simultaneous answers of both Kirkwood, the BuCUE pilot, and Waltfeld's aide DaCosta.

"I need to witness it for myself..." he said. "There are some things you can't be sure of until you exchange fire with one another."

* * *

Back in the main battle, the remaining BuCUEs were letting loose salvo after salvo of missiles at the Strike and Victor's GINN. Although the Strike was maneuverable enough to evade the missiles, Victor's GINN was not, and was forced to use its assault rifle to take out as many missiles as it could. Even Victor's marksmanship was susceptible to the attrition, however, forcing Kira to use his Igelstellungs and the occasional shot from his beam rifle to clear the missiles.

"Damn... I can't get a good luck on these BuCUEs..." Victor muttered. "They're too much in their element here..."

A warning sounded in the GINN's cockpit, and a missile barrage came rushing in at him. Kira's eyes narrowed as he brought up his targeting display. He took aim and fired three shots with his beam rifle, detonating three missiles. The blasts caught the remaining warheads, destroying them as well.

Another warning sounded, and Victor's GINN leapt aside, barely avoiding another barrage of missiles.

_"Victor, are you okay?"_

"Yeah... looks like it's that fourth machine," he said. "It's back."

Victor opened up with the GINN's assault rifle, the weapon spitting out a hail of bullets at the BuCUE. The quadrupedal mobile suit effortlessly dodged, weaving through Victor's shots, and tackled the GINN. "Urgh! It's... moving a lot faster than before!" Victor ground out, watching as the BuCUE streaked in at the Strike. "Could it be the Tiger?"

* * *

Kira dodged a pair of railgun rounds before slamming his shield into a BuCUE, stopping its charge. As Kira brought his rifle to bear, missiles streaked in and slammed into the Strike, throwing its balance off. The fourth BuCUE circled around the Strike, the other two BuCUEs approaching it.

"Formation Delta, now!" Waltfeld called out. The two other BuCUEs complied, forming up into an arrow phalanx with Waltfeld's BuCUE at the tip.

Victor's GINN took up position next to the Strike, its assault rifle in its right hand and one of its swords in its left hand. _"We can't let them have the numbers advantage,"_ Victor said, and fired. The BuCUEs spread out and made their move. One slammed right into the GINN, sending it to the ground. It activated its caterpillar tracks and began tearing through the GINN's chest armor.

"Victor!" Kira shouted in alarm, but snapped back to his own fight. He fired at the first BuCUE, but it dodged to the side of his shot, leaving the Strike open to a tackle from the turret-less, damaged BuCUE. As it leaped off from the Strike, the other two BuCUEs let loose a barrage of missiles on the Strike and GINN.

_"Damn... Kira, you have to get airborne!"_ Victor said as his GINN rose to its feet.

"I know!" Kira replied as he pushed his thrusters, sending the Strike up into the air. His proximity alarm quickly sounded as Waltfeld's BuCUE suddenly slammed into the Strike before firing at point-blank range, sending it to the ground. As soon as Kira hit the ground, two alarms sounded, one coming from his missile lock system and the other was coming from his power readouts. Kira moved the Strike, barely dodging the missiles that had been aiming for him.

"Heh. There, you see that?" Waltfeld said, smirking. It was as if he could see the Strike's power readouts from his BuCUE. "If you keep pounding away at that armor, it'll give out eventually. I estimated that the Phase Shift Armor will lose effectiveness after seventy-six hits. Ignore that GINN! Aim for the Strike!"

_"Yes, Commander!"_

"Now... my weird and wonderful pilot..." Waltfeld said, a maniacal grin on his face. "How are you going to get out of _this_ little situation?"

Kira grit his teeth. _'Victor's GINN can't take much more... and Liz is tied up fighting the Sentinel... I can't let them down...!'_

"I'm not..." he said as he gripped the controls tighter. The BuCUEs fired, taking their kill-shots.

"I'm not going to let you win!" Kira shouted as an amethyst, jewel-like seed raced through his mind's eye and shattered in a nova of light.

* * *

Elsewhere, Leon saw a sudden flash of light within his mind's eye, followed by an intense, searing pain. He cried out in pain and gripped his head with his two hands, almost doubling over but held up by his restraints.

"Damn, what the... hell... is this?" he grit out, taking the Sentinel's controls in a death grip. Leon looked up at the Guardian on his front view screen, his eyes once again that same eerie molten color. The mobile suit before him had taken a beating, but it was still ready to fight, both sabers held at the ready.

"Tch... c'mon, back down already..." Leon said, shunting the pain aside through sheer willpower. "Don't make me destroy you..."

* * *

In a split-second, the Strike had all but eliminated the distance between itself and the three BuCUEs. It planted its shield into the ground as it passed by the ZAFT units, and the turret-less BuCUE slammed right into it, its pilot not fast enough to get out of the way at such close proximity.

Kira, now behind the ZAFT mobile suits, raised his rifle and fired twice - blindly. The first shot spooked the second BuCUE, forcing it to dodge to the side, where the second shot speared its right hind leg.

"Okay, now this might be trouble..." Waltfeld said as he and his remaining wingman raced in, firing what was left of their missiles. Kira, taking a lesson from the Sentinel's earlier maneuver, backflipped the Strike, the Aile Striker's exhaust kicking up a large cloud of sand. The missiles hit the sand, shielding the Strike from both harm and view. Waltfeld moved his BuCUE around the cloud, but his wingman leaped right over it.

Before the ZAFT commander could shout out a warning, the Strike emerged from the cloud directly underneath the airborne BuCUE. Out of its element, the BuCUE was easy pickings for Kira's incredible split-second marksmanship. The ZAFT mobile suit exploded in a spectacular fireball.

"Alright, now you've gone too far!" Waltfeld said as he made a reckless chargeat the seemingly defenseless Strike. Before anyone else could move or say anything, the Strike had turned and tossed away its rifle and shield. In the blink of an eye, it had already passed Waltfeld's BuCUE with both beam sabers drawn. The results were clearly evident on the damaged BuCUE, which now lacked its head and wings in addition to the earlier damage to its foreleg.

"DaCosta! We're withdrawing!" Waltfeld said. "Contact Vanyel and have him retreat back to base as well."

_"Yes, Commander."_

Waltfeld chuckled as he glanced over his diagnostics board and at his surviving wingman. "Wow, now _that_ is my kind of guy!" he said in clear delight. "It's been way too long since I had this much fun!"

* * *

Leon had just gotten the upper hand on the Guardian when the retreat code made it through to his comm display. He looked up from the display and out through the main camera, where his opponent was kneeling. One of the beam sabers was on the ground, smoke still rising up from its two pieces, while the other was held up defensively: its last line of defense against his two beam glaives

The ZAFT red blinked, his molten red and gold eyes returning to their normal icy blue, and hit a few switches on his display board, setting his communications to an open frequency.

"Do you read me, pilot of the Guardian?" he said. "Let's call it a draw, and live to fight another day."

Leon lowered the Sentinel's weapons and backed off to a safe distance. He threw up a salute with his beam glaives before taking off, passing the Strike by.

He spared a glance for it, and it was gone, lost to the sands behind him. There had been enough fighting and death today.

* * *

The Strike stood alone in the middle of the desert, almost like an unyielding sentry. Victor's GINN was in bad shape, with most of its torso armor shredded to unrecognizable pieces, while Liz's Guardian had lost much of its weaponry, and had several jagged tears in its arms and shoulders, with a shallow one going across its chest plate.

Kira's gaze fell on the survivors of Desert Dawn's attack, and he began moving towards them. Victor looked at them as well, before shaking his head in regret. This was why he harbored a dislike for rebel groups like Desert Dawn. Few members, if any at all, truly understood the art of war. Most were simply acting on raw emotion, and fought to simply destroy the enemy before them regardless of the cost. Worse yet, they promoted the eye-for-an-eye philosophy, doing nothing but fanning the flames of war and strife.

Kira opened the cokcpit hatch and descended on the zipline. He removed his helmet, revealing a cold look in his eyes.

"Are you trying to get yourselves killed...?" he asked, his quiet tone silencing everyone as they listened. "In a place like this... maybe now, you've learned a little something from all of this."

"Alright, that does it!" Cagalli said in anger, rushing forward and grabbing the front of Kira's flight suit. "You heartless moron! Look!" She pointed at Ahmed's motionless body.

"They all fought desperately!" she continued, just short of shouting. "We're all fighting desperately, just so we can protect the people and things important to us!"

Kira's eyes narrowed. Enough was enough. A whip-like crack went through the air, bringing all sound and motion to a stand-still. Everyone simply stared, wide-eyed, none more so than a shocked Cagalli, who nursed the cheek Kira had slapped without the slightest hint of mercy.

Back in his GINN's cockpit, Victor whistled lowly. "Damn... he did _not_ strike me as the type to hit a girl..." he said. "Well, I won't deny that she needed some sense slapped into her."

_"I won't argue with that, Vic, but... did you expect it to happen so literally and so mercilessly?"_ Liz asked. _"I mean, you probably could have heard that even without our mobile suits' audio pickup."_

Victor chuckled humorlessly. "Well... no, not really," he admitted.

Back on the ground, Kira felt some of his control slip, and he let out his thoughts and feelings on the matter.

"What the hell can you protect... when your feelings are the only weapons you've got?" he demanded. Cagalli remained unmoving, though her eyes wide with shock and... fear. Yes, it was fear, and the kind that Kira instantly saw for what it was. He had seen it in his own eyes in the past.

"That's what a real battle is like..." he continued. "Maybe, now that you know that fear of battle, next time... you'll think before you act."

Cagalli nodded - almost in a meek fashion - as Kira turned away and walked back to the Strike.

As soon as he was inside, he let out a breath, releasing some of the built-up tension in his body. He flipped a switch, and brought up the _Archangel_'s tactical frequency.

_"Archangel,_ this is Kira," he said. "We... could use a pickup. The Guardian's taken a beating, and Victor's GINN isn't much better off."

The voice that answered was Mir's. _"Understood, Kira,"_ she said. _"We'll forward it to Chris right away."_

"Right, thanks..." Kira said, and shut the comm. He leaned back, and surrendered himself to temporary oblivion.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, that's that. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the next chapter up within a few days. I think I've managed to separate this more and more from its precursors, so I hope it's a unique experience that you readers enjoy.**

**Oh, and I hope you all enjoyed the Leon vs Liz duel in the chapter. It was quite fun for me, after all.**

**Before I leave this chapter behind, here's a question: do you think Leon and Tomoyo should meet Kira in the next chapter? Just leave whatever you decide in a review or PM. Either way works.**

**At any rate, please leave a review! Every single bit of feedback encourages me to do better!**

**Ja ne, minna-san! ^_^**


	12. Phase 12: Fangs of the Enemy

**Okay, I'll say it straight: I was a little disappointed by the lack of response from people, especially when I compare it to the story traffic and to the amount of people who have this on their alerts or favorites list. I'm not asking too much, am I, when I ask people if they could at least leave a review? All I want to know is what you guys think of my work, after all. Ah, well, I can't really help it if readers are stingy with reviews.**

**Anyways, I'm not going to keep you people waiting. Without much further ado, here it is: the next installment.**

**Disclaimer: Well, I don't think I need to say anything. Until further notice, the disclaimer from the previous chapters still stands.**

* * *

Phase Twelve: Fangs of the Enemy

February 19, C.E. 71

* * *

Gibraltar Base

"Man, this really is getting to be a pain, huh?" Dearka said from where he was seated on a couch. He and Yzak were currently in the officers' lounge of ZAFT's Gibraltar Base. "Athrun, Nicol, and Saul get a bit of leave, while Leon's out there with the Waltfeld Team fighting the legged ship. You and me? We're stuck here for days doing nothing but fiddling our thumbs. Worse, we just _had_ to land in the same area as that lunatic Scirocco."

Yzak sighed irritably. "Do _not_ remind me, Dearka," he ground out as he paced back and forth. "I thought we were good to go when the base commanders finally agreed to resupply us, but then they tell us that the repairs will still take time, and, as if that isn't bad enough, we can't move out without further orders! How infuriating is that?"

Zane walked in at the end of Yzak's tirade. "The Commander's on the line," he said, handing Dearka a portable version of normal comm. terminals. Dearka set it on the table before him, activating the display to reveal Rau Le Creuset, seated behind his desk on the _Vesalius_. Yzak walked over to stand next to Dearka, while Zane hovered nearby, within the visual range of the terminal.

"Yzak, Dearka, Zane, I've received new orders for you," he said. "I realize you three might still be tired, but once your repairs and resupplying are complete, I want you to head to Africa to join with the Waltfeld Team. They'll be commencing a clean-up operation of the legged ship and a local resistance group. Exercise all necessary caution. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir," the three pilots replied, saluting. Le Creuset returned the salute, before cutting the link.

"Well, well… looks like we get our shot after all," Dearka said.

Yzak nodded. "That's fine…" he said. "There's a debt to be repaid for this scar of mine."

* * *

The Next Day

ZAFT African HQ, Banadiya

"I can't believe I let you two talk me into this," Tomoyo said as she walked through the mansion's hallways, Leon ever at her side. It was the first time in quite a while - she had to admit - that saw her in casual civilian dress and not the proud red coat of a ZAFT elite. Hers was a fairly simple outfit, but offered her guaranteed comfort and mobility should anything arise. She wore a sleeveless white vest that had two thin blue strips running down its left breast, along with a fashionable black leather belt. A pair of deep blue shorts, ending barely past her thighs, completed her outfit.

"The legged ship is out there waiting for us, yet you wanted to take a day off, _and_ Commander Waltfeld approved it!"

Leon grinned. "Well, you should know that it was actually _his_ idea, Tomoyo, not mine," he replied. The golden-brown-haired pilot was, like Tomoyo, dressed casually to disguise his status as a ZAFT red coat. Leon's outfit had originally been misunderstood by Tomoyo to be a minimalist approach. She had seen him earlier that morning, clad in a comfortable long-sleeved zip-up shirt and a pair of pants – both black and adorned with buckles. While they were stylishly cut in their own right, they also somehow lacked Leon's usual flair. But, the golden-brown-haired red coat had surprised her by topping the ensemble off with a high-collared, sleeveless silver-white long coat lined with cheerful, bright gold trim, on the back of which the kanji for "courage" and "honor" had been embroidered in the same golden coloration, making up for the rest of his outfit's simplicity.

"But, still… to actually even _suggest_ it is just…" Tomoyo trailed off as they reached the mansion's foyer.

"Irresponsible? Crude? Unmilitaristic?" Waltfeld suddenly said from where he stood near the main doors, clad in a poisonously bright red-and-yellow shirt, a hat, and shades. "I admit, some might see it that way, but many people don't seem to realize that a soldier's greatest responsibility isn't to his country, but to himself. If a soldier can't even be counted on to relax and make sure that he stays rested and capable, then he can't be counted on to defend his own country."

"Commander," Leon said, acknowledging the Desert Tiger's presence. Waltfeld grinned.

"Hey now, we're off duty," he said. "Call me Andy. Or, even if it'll make me feel old, call me Mr. Waltfeld. Even if it's just for today, I want you to dispose of all that 'Commander' crap. Is that all right with you both?"

"Yes, Com – Mr. Waltfeld…" Leon replied a little uneasily, quickly correcting his mistake before Waltfeld jumped on him about it. It was rather uncomfortable, but he'd adjust eventually. The man just wanted to remain personal with each one of his men, after all.

Waltfeld nodded. "Great! Then let's get going, then!" he said cheerfully, turning and walking out the door, no longer the feared ZAFT ground commander, but a lively, if slightly eccentric, man.

Tomoyo turned to Leon uncertainly. "Are you absolutely sure the commander's for real?" she asked. Leon smiled.

"He really isn't your average hard-line commander, that's for sure." Leon shook his head mirthfully. "Though, I have to admit, when he's having a good time, he can be quite… well, eccentric is really the only word that comes to mind."

"That's true," Tomoyo said, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Hey! What the heck are you guys doing? You're burning daylight just standing there!" Waltfeld called back from the bottom of the enormous flight of stairs that separated the town from the ZAFT HQ.

Leon sighed, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, as he turned his gaze to his friend and partner. "Well… I guess we should be going," he said, amusement dancing in his blue eyes. "Shall we?"

"Yeah, let's," Tomoyo replied, her smile reaching her deep blue eyes.

* * *

A pair of jeeps came to a stop in the middle of one of Banadiya's busiest marketplaces, allowing two teens and an older man to step off the second of the pair.

"Well, here we are…" Victor pushed his shades up, returning them to their proper position. "Banadiya, ZAFT African Headquarters."

"We'll meet up with you in four hours, all right?" Cagalli said, turning back to the remaining passengers in the jeep.

Kisaka, seated in the second row, nodded. "Cagalli, please, be careful."

"You too," Cagalli replied. "Al Jairi isn't someone we can let our guard down around, right?"

Natarle peered at Kira over the rim of her shades. "Well, dismiss – I mean… good luck, Kira," the lieutenant said, flustered. This wasn't something she was used to, after all. "I'm… ah… counting on you."

With that, the jeeps took off, leaving the trio all by their lonesome. Victor beckoned to the two teens, motioning for them to get closer.

"I'll be off now. I have a couple of things to pick up, so I'll just find you later," he said, his narrowed eyes glancing back and forth as if searching for any sign of suspicion. "We're right in the middle of enemy territory, so don't let your guard down. Kira, you make sure to take care of Cagalli, all right?"

Kira and Cagalli both nodded. Victor nodded in return, offered a grin and a thumbs-up, and walked off, effortlessly blending in with the crowd.

"Well then, let's…" Cagalli turned to Kira, but trailed off at the brunet's stunned expression. "Hey, Kira, what's up with you? You all right?"

Kira blinked, and then shook his head. "I'm fine. It's just… this is where the Desert Tiger's headquarters are, right? It all seems so… lively, and normal. It's like ZAFT isn't even here."

Cagalli mulled over it a moment, then turned, beckoning Kira to follow her. "Come with me." The blond led Kira to a plaza in the middle of the city, or at least that was what Kira guessed it had been in the past. There was a massive crater right in the middle of it, evidence of some past conflict.

"Things may appear peaceful, but looks can be deceiving," Cagalli said. "Look over there." She pointed to a massive object that towered over even the tallest buildings in the city – the Desert Tiger's true seat of military operations, the land battleship _Lesseps_. "That there is this city's real ruler. Any insurrections are immediately and mercilessly dealt with. Banadiya isn't a free city… it's ZAFT's city… ZAFT's and the Desert Tiger's."

Kira leveled his intent gaze at the _Lesseps_, unaware that just a few feet away, a man in a familiar red-and-yellow shirt was watching the pair unnoticed, his eyes taking in every detail about the two teens and assessing them thoroughly from behind a pair of sunglasses.

* * *

The _Archangel_

Liz sighed, running a hand through her hair, giving the simulator hardware a break after another grueling session. She had already been quite dedicated to improving her skills, but it had redoubled ever since the last battle, where the Sentinel pilot had outfought and outmaneuvered her with a combination of merciless attacks and inventive battle tactics.

Victor had tried to cheer her up, saying that her duel with the Sentinel pilot wouldn't be counted as a loss, seeing as the ZAFT forces had been the ones to retreat. But Liz had shaken her head at the man, and if anything her motivation increased even further.

Of course, another reason that she was spending a lot of her time in the simulator was because there was really nothing else she could do. Moping around about her loss wouldn't solve anything, after all.

Liz couldn't stop a smile from coming to her face as Kira and Cagalli suddenly came to mind. After the last battle, Cagalli had seemed almost terrified of Kira for a little while. It wasn't long, though, before she realized he meant no harm, and she was once again back to being her loudmouthed self, so Liz was at least a little glad to get some measure of peace without the blonde around.

"Your scores are coming up, Liz," Johanna said, smiling as she looked over the ratings from Liz's latest runs. "At the rate you're going, I doubt the Guardian's going to be in as bad a shape ever again."

Liz giggled, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth. "Well, I wouldn't want to come back flying a heap of glorified scrap metal any time soon. I can see Chris doing it every time, but I won't let it become a habit of mine."

"The Sentinel really did a number on the Guardian this time…" Johanna commented. "But you shouldn't have to worry. The crews and I will have it up and running in no time."

"Right… Thanks," Liz said before she grinned. "Chris freaked out when he saw the Guardian, though, so I guess I could say that something good came out of it."

"All right, you've made enough jokes at your brother's expense," Johanna said, though her admonishment seemed only half-hearted. "You know that all he wants to do is keep you safe, right? You _are_ his only family left."

Liz frowned slightly. "Yeah, but I just can't stand being treated like some little kid…" Johanna was about to speak, but Liz continued. "I know, Aunt Johanna… he cares about me more than anything in the world, but just once I wish he wouldn't keep shouldering everything like this."

Johanna sighed. "Well, only time will tell if Chris will change that aspect of himself."

"Right…" Liz said. "Well, that's enough of a break for now. I guess it's about time I got in some more practice in the simulator."

* * *

"That was very nicely done," Chris said. "You've definitely improved, Flay."

The redhead had come quite a long way since Chris had started mentoring her in martial arts. Flay wasn't a natural at it, but she was definitely determined to learn, and Chris had even come to suspect that she was practicing on her own, which was a definite good thing. It was easy to see that it was helping; others remarked on the changes that had happened. Flay was no longer withdrawn, returning to her old active and outgoing self.

Chris was glad that, at the very least, he had played a part in helping someone overcome her grief and anger. He himself had let those same emotions rule him in the past, and it was an experience that he was anxious not to repeat. It had not done him any good, just as it had not done Zane Scirocco any good. However, Zane's case was much worse than Chris remembered his ever being. His former best friend had been ready to shoot down an entire shuttle full of innocent civilians.

Shaking his head, he turned back to Flay and studied her form. "Next time, you should try raising your hand a bit more… yeah, there. That's better." Chris nodded to himself as Flay complied with what he was saying. "Also, you ought to spread your legs apart a bit more. It'll help when you need to lower your center of gravity."

Chris nodded to himself, deciding to call it a day. "All right, we're done for today. That was good, Flay. Keep it up."

Flay smiled, dropping her fighting stance and following Chris over to where he'd left a cooler and some towels. Chris had already reached the bench and turned around to take a seat. He was about to sit down when Flay suddenly tripped over her own feet, stumbling right into Chris and knocking him over as well. Both teens looked at each other, their noses barely touching, and instantly blushed, their faces colored a shade of red that could almost rival that of Flay's hair.

"Um… sorry…" Flay said a little awkwardly as she quickly scrambled off of Chris. "Are you… did I hurt you anywhere?"

Chris blinked. He felt… odd, to say the least. He was relieved that Flay was off him – God bless his soul if anyone found them in that position – but he also felt a pang of disappointment shamelessly flowing through him.

'_Why the hell do I feel this way…?'_

'_Simple. You're falling for her.'_

'_What the hell? What are you, some discarded personality that just decided to crawl in here?'_

'_I'm just telling you the truth, Chris. You're falling for Flay Allster.'_

'_No way in hell am I falling for her. She's Sai's girlfriend. Hell, they're going to get married someday!'_

'_So? That doesn't mean that she has to go through with that. You could do something about it!'_

It was weird, he admitted, arguing with himself, but he'd been so caught up in it that he hadn't noticed Flay shaking him until she nearly shouted in his ear.

"Chris? Hello? Are you sure you're all right?"

"Eh? Wha – oh, yeah, I'm fine," Chris replied, sitting up and making himself more comfortable.

"That's good," Flay said, handing him a water bottle from the cooler. "I thought you might have hit your head."

They were silent for a few minutes, choosing just to sit around and relax, taking swigs from their water bottles to rehydrate and quench their thirst.

"Why… did you decide to help me, Chris?" Flay suddenly asked, breaking the silence. It caught Chris off-guard for a moment. It took him a short while to think about it, and compose his reply.

"Well… I saw you in myself, for starters. You reminded me of how I was after my parents and friends died during the Bloody Valentine."

Flay took hold of his free hand. "I'm sorry. I keep reminding you of that, even knowing how much it hurt you."

Chris shook his head. "Don't be. It's not your fault, and keeping everything bottled up is an easy way to self-destruct." He downed the rest of the bottle's contents in a single pull before setting the bottle down next to him. "After Junius Seven… I didn't know what to do. I was lost, and confused, and… angry… and… hurt. Everything just went to hell, and I wanted to make it all go away so badly. So, I did the only thing I could do – I fought. I took my anger, my pain, and my sorrow out on others, even though they didn't deserve it. And the rest, you already know. I just felt that… as someone who's already suffered, I should help you, to keep you from traveling down that path yourself."

Flay smiled gently. "… Thanks, Chris… Thank you…"

She hadn't realized she was still holding Chris' hand. Chris hadn't realized that he'd held on to her, either.

* * *

Banadiya

"Well, we managed to get most of our shopping done, so let's take a break for now." Cagalli led Kira to an open café. Kira nodded, sitting down and immediately looking as if he'd left his spine back on the _Archangel_. Cagalli had forced him to carry _everything_, much to his present dismay. Even Coordinators got tired, after all.

"That… should be everything." Cagalli's hazel eyes scanned up and down a sheet of paper she held in her hand, before she frowned. "Honestly, though… the things that Flay girl asked to see if we could get…"

"She knows." Kira straightened. "That's why she didn't insist on us getting them. She's had it worse than the rest of us. Please, understand what she's going through."

"Okay, fine…" Cagalli sighed, pocketing the paper as a waiter came up and deposited two dishes. She smiled in anticipation. "Well, then. Now that that's done, let's eat!"

"Cagalli… What are these…?" Kira asked, looking over the unfamiliar meal that had been placed before him.

"Doner kebabs." The blonde frowned. "You've never heard of them? They're delicious, especially with chili sauce." Cagalli picked up the red container, holding it out at Kira.

"Now, hold on there for just a minute!" Cagalli and Kira both looked up as a man in a poisonous red-and-yellow shirt, shades, and hat approached their table. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation about doner kebabs. How could you do something like put chili sauce on your kebabs? This yogurt sauce, though… Now _this_ is a perfect thing to add to such a dish!"

* * *

In a nearby table, Leon and Tomoyo shared a look as they watched and listened to their commander argue with the blonde girl about which sauce better complimented doner kebabs. Tomoyo shook her head, sending her hair swaying, but she could not suppress the amused smile on her face.

"What a guy." Leon paused, taking a sip from a tall glass of what Tomoyo could recognize as some sort of tea. "He just goes out and starts a chat all because the girl likes chili sauce with her kebabs and he doesn't."

"His fanaticism is actually quite funny to watch," Tomoyo commented as the byplay continued. "It's really a far-cry from what you'd expect from someone called the 'Desert Tiger'." She regarded Leon's drink quizzically. "What is that you're drinking, anyways?"

Leon blinked, and looked down at his glass as if considering whether to offer a sarcastic response or simple information. He settled on a little of both. "Oh, this? It's sweetened lemon tea. It's not that cheap instant mix stuff you can find in packets, mind you. It's the real thing, and it's a whole lot better to boot." He tipped the glass towards the silver-gray-haired girl sitting across from him. "You can try it if you don't believe me."

Tomoyo stared at Leon. The golden-brown-haired teen stared back. Finally, Tomoyo smiled, and Leon grinned. Victory was his, for now. "Even now, I still can't tell whether you're being serious or not, Leon. You're so convincing that you still manage to surprise me."

"Well, I pride myself on being unpredictable," Leon replied lightly, before motioning in Waltfeld's direction. "Though I think our commander – Oh, there they go."

* * *

"Keep your nose out of this! Who do you think you are, telling people how to eat their food?" Cagalli was already furious, jostling with the older man as they fought a battle for whose sauce would get to Kira first.

"Take a look at what you're doing before you ruin something! Ah, damn it all!" the man lunged forward and squirted the yogurt sauce on Kira's kebab… just as Cagalli did the exact same thing. Kira's expression fell at the sight of the two sauces unceremoniously mixing together on his meal.

Both Cagalli and the older man cringed, before they both sighed. The man pulled up a chair and sat down at their table, between Kira and Cagalli.

"I'm sorry about that," he apologized sincerely, watching as Kira wrapped up the kebab, took a bite out of it, and chewed thoughtfully.

Kira swallowed the mouthful and offered up a small smile. "Actually… a combination of the two isn't so bad."

The older man chuckled, before regarding the bundle of bags Kira had deposited underneath the table. "Wow, you two went and did some real shopping, huh? Are you two planning to throw a party?"

"Just keep your trap shut!" Cagalli was now very close to violence. "Who the heck are you, sitting down at people's tables and just striking up conversations?"

"So there's not going to be a party?" the man asked in mock disappointment. However, the small smile on Kira's face had disappeared, as had the grin on the older man's face. The two had heard a distinct whistling… one that only a person who'd seen a war first-hand would know.

"Hit the dirt!" The man kicked the table up, while Kira lunged at Cagalli and pulled her down, the end result being chili sauce and yogurt sauce covering the blonde.

The rocket flew over the heads of the trio, smashing through the window of the café. Several men appeared from the shadows of the surrounding buildings, brandishing firearms. A few more groups of armed men rose from the tables of another café, converging on the table where Kira, Cagalli, and the man were now hiding.

"Hey, kids, look at me. Are you all right?" the man asked, pulling an SMG out from a holster hidden beneath his shirt.

"Die, Coordinator, you rotten, lousy space monster!" one man shouted, firing into the table that now served as a makeshift barrier.

"For the preservation of our pure and blue world!" another shouted.

"They're Blue Cosmos agents…" Cagalli said, eyes narrowing. Kira's eyes widened slightly, before they narrowed in anger.

The older man fired a few rounds blindly as he brought a portable comm. unit to his mouth. "Vanyel, Asahara, take the group nearest to you! DaCosta, clean up the rest!"

A chorus of affirmatives answered him as he rose up to take a few shots before ducking, the return fire passing over his head.

* * *

Leon was already moving before Waltfeld had even called them into action. "Tomoyo, we'll catch them in a pincer!" The girl barely acknowledged his words, but complied nonetheless as she mirrored Leon's movements. Leon narrowed his eyes as he jerked his right arm, dropping a razor-sharp dagger from a scabbard hidden beneath his coat's sleeve. He caught the weapon by its hilt with his index and middle fingers as he ran. Leon threw it with surgical precision, catching a man in the heart. He jerked his right arm again, another dagger falling out of his sleeve and into his waiting hand.

"_I'm ready! Just give me an opening!"_ Tomoyo's voice called out. Time seemingly slowed for Leon as adrenaline took over his body. The Redcoat dove behind cover – landing in a crouch – before leaping forward, twisting his entire body as he turned towards the group of assailants. He saw Tomoyo lunge towards the group, and a man turning to aim at her. Still in midair, Leon continued his twist as he threw the blade with stunning speed. Before anyone else could even react, Leon's dagger had already embedded itself into the man's firing hand. The Redcoat hit the ground hard, letting his momentum propel him behind the cover of a knocked over table.

Before the Blue Cosmos agent could react, Tomoyo was under him in a low crouch, lashing upwards with a kick that caught the man full in the chin and lifted him into the air. The silver-gray-haired girl continued her spin and fired off a barrage of kicks – almost too fast for the eye to see – at the man, catching him in the torso, before she spun one more time and connected with a vicious roundhouse that sent him flying into one of his comrades.

"_Watch your six!"_ Tomoyo heard Leon's voice in the comm. receiver in her ear, and she ducked instinctively. Tomoyo saw a knife, and her assailant's arm, pass over her. The girl quickly reacted, took hold of the limb, threw her assailant over her shoulder, and forced the knife from the man's grip with a simple kick to the wrist. Continuing the maneuver, she twisted the man's arm and broke it with a brutal snap-kick to the elbow. A sickening sound was heard as bone and muscle gave way to the vicious blow, while the man screamed as his arm was bent too far in a direction it was not meant to go.

Letting go of the broken limb, Tomoyo quickly dove back behind the cover of one of the many fallen tables. Taking a quick look, she found the last terrorist firing at her with reckless abandon. She narrowed her eyes, already formulating a plan, when a voice spoke up in her comm. unit.

"_I've got him, Tomoyo."_

Leon suddenly appeared in Tomoyo's peripheral vision, already running around the small plaza's perimeter. He took two steps up onto the wall, leaping off on the third step. He jerked his left arm this time, and a beautiful silver stiletto slid down into his waiting hand. The terrorist saw Leon as well and realized the implications, whipping around and firing a single shot. He was fast, but Leon was faster still. The Redcoat collided with the terrorist for a split-second before he hit the ground rolling, coming to a stop in a crouch.

'_That was close…'_ Leon did not look up, remaining doubled over as he tried to bring his slightly labored breathing under control. He did not need to see the terrorist fall to the ground, the stiletto buried to the hilt in his chest. He winced as pain throbbed from his left shoulder. He looked at said shoulder and saw the bullet from the Blue Cosmos agent's gun embedded there. It had collided with one of the buckles on his sleeve, preventing it from piercing all the way through the sleeve and the skin beneath. _'Damn, that's lucky… pretty lucky indeed…'_

* * *

Kira watched as one of the remaining assailants got shot, his pistol falling to the ground and skidding to a stop near the brunet's feet. He looked around, and saw one of the Blue Cosmos agents – this one wielding an assault rifle – creeping up on the man in the hat who'd been talking to them earlier.

Acting instinctively, Kira picked up the gun and threw it at the terrorist, knocking the assault rifle out of his hand. Before the man could even react, Kira had leaped up and delivered a powerful kick to his face, knocking him out. Kira saw another assailant pointing a pistol at the man in the hat.

Kira looked around for something, and found the bottle of yogurt sauce next to his foot. Without any time to waste, he kicked it, sending it straight into the man's face. It provided just enough of a distraction for someone to shoot the terrorist, killing him.

The man in the hat watched, and smirked knowingly. Just then, an "All clear!" came over his comm. unit, letting him know that everything had been dealt with.

Cagalli walked over. "Hey, are you okay?"

Kira nodded, smiling reassuringly. "Yeah, don't worry. I'm fine." He suddenly cringed as a gunshot was heard, and he looked to see that the man he had knocked down now had a bullet wound in his head. He looked away just as quickly, remorse in his eyes.

"Hey, what was that back there, anyways? Do you… even know what a gun is for?" Cagalli asked, planting her fists on her hips. When Kira directed a glare at her, she fidgeted. "Okay, um… never mind, forget what I said…"

"Commander!" The pair watched as a red-headed ZAFT officer approached the man they'd been talking to earlier. "Commander, are you all right?"

The man smiled cheerfully. "Yeah, I'm doing just fine. It's all thanks to this kid over here." He motioned over at Kira, before his gaze fell on a pair of teens in civilian clothing. "Leon, Tomoyo… you two okay?"

Tomoyo nodded, but glanced worriedly at Leon, who was clutching his left shoulder. "I'm fine, but… Leon, he… took a bullet…"

"Oh, I wouldn't be so worried. You make it sound worse than it actually is," Leon said as he suddenly winced, before he let out a breath as his hand came away from his shoulder, a bullet held between his thumb and index finger. Tomoyo blushed fiercely, and quickly looked away as she tried to hide it. "It hit the buckle. I'll probably have a nasty bruise there by the time I get it looked at… but I should consider myself lucky this time."

Kira's eyes suddenly widened. This Leon… he _knew_ his voice!

The man turned back to Kira, and took off his hat and sunglasses, revealing his features. Cagalli quickly recognized the man's face, and gasped in surprise.

"The Desert Tiger…?" she whispered. "You mean we were talking with Andrew Waltfeld of ZAFT?"

"My boy, you just saved my life." Waltfeld smiled sincerely, and gratefully. "How can I thank you for what you've done today?"

* * *

Approximately 20 minutes later

ZAFT African HQ, Banadiya

"You should relax. Please, make yourselves at home," Waltfeld said as he led a reluctant Kira and Cagalli into the mansion that was ZAFT's African Headquarters.

"What business does the Desert Tiger have with us?" Cagalli demanded.

Kira nodded his agreement. "Yes… we, uh… really should be going…"

"Nonsense." Waltfeld shook his head, a smile on his face. "I inconvenienced you, interrupted your meal, _and_ had to have you bail me out. Not to mention that the young lady here is totally covered in sauce. The very _least_ I could do is have your clothes cleaned. I wouldn't feel right just letting you go home like that."

At that, Waltfeld motioned, and a young woman with long bluish-black hair stepped forward. She leaned in for a closer look at Cagalli, and nodded critically.

"You can't go home looking like that," she proclaimed. She took Cagalli by the shoulder and ushered her along. "Come on… let's go."

"Ah! Cagalli…" Kira motioned to follow, but Waltfeld put a hand on the brunet's shoulder.

"Don't worry. Aisha will take good care of her." He steered Kira around and into a room which, Kira saw, was probably where Waltfeld received his guests. He glanced curiously at the older man, watching him prepare a pot of coffee.

"Well, you know who I am, but I don't know who you are. What's your name, kid?"

Kira hesitated slightly, and instantly hoped that the perceptive ZAFT commander hadn't caught it. "It's Kira… Kira Yamato."

Waltfeld nodded. "Well, then, Kira, it's a pleasure. Once again, I want to extend my thanks for saving me earlier." Waltfeld then took the pot of coffee and looked it over, before nodding to himself, satisfied.

"I have every ounce of confidence that the coffee I prepare is first-rate." Waltfeld poured two cups of coffee, bringing them over to a table that lay between two couches. "Come on, take a seat. Make yourself comfortable."

Kira did as he was told; accepting that he probably wasn't getting out of here until the Tiger said otherwise. He looked at the cup that Waltfeld had set down before him, then back up at the man as he drank his own.

"Please, try it." Waltfeld gestured towards the cup. "It's one of my own original blends. I tried blending Mocha Sidamo with 10% Santos No. 2," he explained, watching eagerly as Kira lifted the cup to his lips. "Mocha Sidamo is known as the "Grande Dame of Coffee". It's the highest quality mocha there is, and it's just a tad bitter."

Kira's eyes widened as the cup came down. "Delicious…" There was no mistaking it in Kira's mind… and his taste buds – Andrew Waltfeld knew how to make his coffee.

"Oh, you like it!" Waltfeld's expression was nothing short of joyous, even gleeful. "Most of my men don't really get it." He picked up a pack and slid it across the table. "I'll tell you what. Why don't you take some beans with you? They're a personal favorite of mine, but not many people can appreciate the acquired taste."

Kira looked at the pack, back at the eccentric commander's grinning face, and looked to the side… and saw it – a small replica of a fossil, hanging decoratively on the wall over the room's fireplace.

Waltfeld followed Kira's gaze, and smiled. "Ah, Evidence 01. You ever see the real McCoy?"

Kira shook his head. "No," he admitted.

"It's funny, what with people calling it a whalestone. Does that look like a whale to you?"

"I… really can't say for certain…" Kira replied a little hesitantly.

"Well, if you ask me, those look like wings," Waltfeld said. "Whales normally don't come with wings, do they?"

"No," Kira answered, a little rattled at all the questions Waltfeld was suddenly throwing his way. "But George Glenn brought it back from Jupiter as proof of the existence of extraterrestrial life."

"That's true, but the point I'm trying to make here is… Why is this figure assumed to be that of a whale's?"

"Well then, what would you call it?" Kira asked.

Waltfeld chuckled. "Well, I'll admit that nothing in particular comes to mind." The man took a sip of his coffee, relishing the flavor. "Ah… there's nothing like a good cup of coffee…"

For a moment, Kira saw Victor Cain's form blurring together with Andrew Waltfeld's own. The brunet blinked in surprise. They looked nothing alike, but their mannerisms were too alike to be merely coincidental.

Had they known each other in the past, back when Victor was still a ZAFT soldier?

"Anyways… amusing as this thing actually is, it's also fairly problematic," Waltfeld said as the door to the room opened. "Well… in my opinion, at any rate."

"You think Evidence 01 is problematic? How so?" Kira asked.

"You don't agree?" Waltfeld responded in turn as someone walked into the room. "It was because of Evidence 01's discovery that all this hope was suddenly opened up… well, perhaps you'd rather call it a possibility."

"A… possibility?"

"I'm talking about the possibility that human beings possess the potential to go further." Waltfeld took another sip from his cup. "Of course, in a sense, it's also the reason why this war was started in the first place."

"How is that, exactly?" Kira asked.

"It's because the possibility of such potential brought Coordinators to the forefront of it all," a new voice cut in, making Kira turn his attention to the person that had walked in earlier. It took him a moment to process who the golden-brown-haired teen was, remembering Waltfeld clearly having called him 'Leon'. He hadn't dispensed of his civilian wear quite yet, still clad in the outfit Kira had seen him wearing earlier in the day.

"Ah, there you are. It's not nice to keep guests waiting," Waltfeld said. "Well, Leon, this is Kira Yamato. Kira, this is Leon Vanyel. He's on loan from a team whose commander I couldn't care less about, but, contrary to said commander, he's a good man."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kira." Leon took Kira's proffered hand and shook it. Suddenly, a curious expression lit up his face. "Hold on… _Kira Yamato_…?" he said.

Kira nodded. "Yes. That's me."

"You wouldn't happen to… know Athrun Zala, would you?"

Kira's eyes widened instantly. Waltfeld looked between the two curiously, somehow finding it odd that two people who'd never met before could be connected just by knowing a common person.

"Yes," Kira replied. "Athrun Zala was – is – my best friend. We've known each other since we attended Lunar Prep School."

Leon smiled. "I see. Athrun's talked about you. He always spoke very highly of his friend."

"Wait, so you know…"

Leon nodded, his smile transforming into a grin. "I know Athrun, alright. He and I are on the same team. If you have anything you'd like to tell him, I could pass it along for you."

Kira was stunned, but tried to keep it from his body language. "Um… maybe I'll let you know later. You were mentioning something about how Evidence 01 brought Coordinators to the forefront of everything?"

Leon shared a look with Waltfeld, not fooled for a second by the young brunet's sudden change of topic away from Athrun. Waltfeld shook his head, telling Leon to simply play along. The red coat sighed inaudibly, and nodded.

"Yes, that's right," Leon said. "As I said earlier, Evidence 01's discovery, and the possibilities that opened up because of it, brought Coordinators to the forefront of everything. In a sense, it was the direct cause of the sudden boom in the Coordinator population. The rise in the number of Coordinators then gave everyone the numbers to start this entire war. There were so many Coordinators gathered in one area – that area being the PLANTs, something that George Glenn was able to make possible because of Evidence 01 – that Blue Cosmos was simply able to nuke them rather than employ conventional terrorist attacks like what you just saw today."

Kira nodded. "I see… if you put it that way, it makes a frightening amount of sense."

Waltfeld suddenly looked around. "By the way, Leon… where's Tomoyo?"

Leon grinned. "We ran into Ms. Aisha on the way. She needed help with that girl. Apparently, she's a fiery one. I recall Ms. Aisha saying that she was being 'too stubborn for her own good' or something to that effect."

Waltfeld chuckled, as did Kira. Whatever comment was about to be said was cut short as a knock came at the door.

"Andy?" It was Aisha's voice.

"Yeah, come on in, Aisha." Waltfeld suddenly smirked, as Aisha walked in. A nervous Cagalli at first hid behind Aisha, but the older woman smiled, moving out of the way as Tomoyo pushed her in.

"Sorry I'm late, Mr. Waltfeld," Tomoyo replied cheerfully. "Ms. Aisha was right. She's certainly a handful."

Kira found he was speechless. It was true Cagalli was a tomboy, and he had to admit that he never thought he'd see the blonde in a dress, but he had to admit that she looked _very_ good in it.

"You're a… a girl," Kira muttered, unable to come up with anything else in his surprise.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Cagalli demanded, her earlier nervousness gone and anger taking its place.

"Well, uh… I meant that it reminded me that you're a girl!" Kira offered, before suddenly realizing what it was he'd just said and mentally slapping himself.

"That's the same thing, you jackass!" Cagalli shot back. Andy and Aisha laughed at the conversation between the two teens, while Leon and Tomoyo simply exchanged a look, amusement dancing in their eyes. Cagalli quickly blushed in embarrassment.

After the two adults had settled themselves, Cagalli went and took a seat next to Kira, while Aisha left, saying she had things to attend to. Leon was simply content to lean on a wall with his eyes closed and his arms crossed, while Tomoyo pulled up a chair next to the golden-brown-haired pilot and sat down, seeming very at ease in the chair, her legs folded tailor-style. For now, they would remain as the Tiger's bodyguards, at least until they returned to active combat duty.

Waltfeld smiled. "Well, that dress looks very flattering on you." He nodded appreciatively. "From the way I see it, it seems you're accustomed to dressing up in such fine clothing."

"Say what you want," Cagalli replied, before lifting the cup Waltfeld had set before her and taking a sip from it. "Don't you dare patronize me."

"Heh. The perfect little lady until you speak, eh?" Waltfeld remarked, chuckling. "Still, I suppose it's hard to believe that you can so easily remind me of some well-to-do princess… from a far-away kingdom." At that, Cagalli suddenly started. She narrowed her eyes to cover her sudden discomfort.

"It's just as hard for me to believe that you're actually the Desert Tiger," Cagalli shot back. "Why spend your oh-so-valuable time dressing people up? Is this how you get your kicks, Waltfeld?"

Leon's eyes opened slowly, his gaze falling on Cagalli and Kira. The brunet saw something in Leon's icy blue-eyed gaze. Some sort of… recognition. He felt a twinge of nervousness run through him.

"Well, it was Aisha who picked that dress out," Waltfeld replied, a slight smirk on his lips. "What do you mean by… getting my kicks?"

"How about running around Banadiya in disguise, striking up annoying conversations with random people?" Cagalli said, her temper flaring out of control. Kira mentally groaned. She was digging their grave without realizing it. "Or how about having residents evacuate before burning their homes down?"

Waltfeld's smirk widened ever so slightly. Kira prayed silently, hoping Cagalli would realize the mistake she was in the process of making. _'Dammit, you're going to kill us both!'_

"You… have a lovely pair of eyes," Waltfeld suddenly said. "There's something very sincere in them…"

"Don't toy with me!" Cagalli shouted, slamming her palms on the table top. Leon stiffened slightly, his left hand beginning to clench and unclench itself unconsciously.

"Are you one of those people who'd rather be dead?" Waltfeld questioned, his eyes narrowed. He turned to Kira.

"How about you, then… Kira?" he asked. "What do you think about all this? What do you think needs to be done so that this war can finally come to an end? Give me your opinion as a mobile suit pilot!"

"Hey, how do you know about that?" Cagalli demanded, only for her eyes to suddenly widen as she realized what she'd done. Waltfeld laughed, satisfied with his success.

"Being too sincere can also be a liability." Waltfeld stood up and walked over to a desk. Kira stood as well, took Cagalli's hand, and stood before her defensively. Waltfeld slowly opened the drawer. "Unlike in sports, the game of war has no rules. There are no set time limits, and no points are awarded." He rummaged through the drawer, continuing to talk. "So, how do we determine the winners and the losers? At what point do we put an end to it?"

"At what point…?" Kira echoed, suddenly uncertain.

"When every single one of your enemies has been destroyed? Perhaps then?" Waltfeld pulled a handgun from the drawer, aiming it directly at Kira.

Kira scanned the room, looking for something he could use to get out of this situation.

"I would advise you against trying anything stupid," Waltfeld said. "The moment you make a move, you're dead. Even if you have berserker capabilities, you couldn't force your way out of here with any degree of success."

"Berserker…?" Kira questioned. Leon's eyes showed the mild surprise he felt, but that was it. His expression and body language were both carefully guarded. Tomoyo was a little more open, surprise evident on her features.

"Everyone here is a Coordinator, just like you," Waltfeld continued. "That aside, Leon and Tomoyo here are both extremely skilled combatants on the ground, far beyond the norm of what even Coordinators can achieve. They can – and will – kill you before you make it out of this room."

Cagalli suddenly looked at Kira. "Wait… you're…?"

"I saw you in battle on two separate occasions. Take your adjustments for contact pressure against the sand, and the heat convection parameters. Both times, you were able to quickly apply adjustments to your mobile suit's OS while in the heat of battle. Only a Coordinator could fight like that, though even among us Coordinators, I'd say that you're a first-rate specimen. Of course, your friends in the other two machines – the Guardian and the Raven – are also quite skilled, but you, the Strike's pilot, possess talents that are still beyond theirs."

"Three highly-gifted Coordinators piloting the Earth Forces' prototype mobile suits… I have no idea why you've decided to betray your own kind, but… as long as you remain the pilots of those machines… we're destined to be sworn enemies… even if we're all Coordinators."

Waltfeld smiled mirthlessly. "It almost makes me wonder if we have no other choice but to destroy each other."

The door suddenly swung open, as a new voice cut in. "There is a choice, actually."

Kira and Cagalli turned to look at the intruder. There, walking through the doorway, with his pistol aimed at Waltfeld, was Victor Cain.

"Andrew Waltfeld… it's been a while, hasn't it?" Victor said, walking forward. Leon crouched low, his fingers already cradling the stiletto that had dropped down from his left sleeve. Tomoyo was down on one knee, ready to move as well.

Waltfeld turned his gun from Kira to Victor, his smile becoming predatory. "Yes, it has… John Alaric. I should have known you were too stubborn to be assassinated. I suppose I should have also known that no one could be as good of a shot as you are."

"Well, I needed to disappear for a bit." Victor smirked. "To complete the deception, sometimes you need to deceive both friends and enemies, after all."

"John Alaric…? The legendary Black Hawk?" Leon questioned, genuine surprise etched on his features.

"It can't be… can it?" Tomoyo whispered, shock portrayed on her face. Was this man here truly the legendary Black Hawk, the ZAFT ace pilot who also formed the Alaric Team, ZAFT's most elite and dreaded space-based fighting force?

"Victor…" Cagalli said, complete and utter disbelief flooding her features. "You're John Alaric?"

Victor – no, _John_ – nodded. "Victor Cain is an alias I used to cover my tracks. I really am the Black Hawk, John Alaric."

"So, you were really part of ZAFT this entire time, weren't you?" Cagalli said, ready to rip the man to shreds if it weren't for Kira holding onto her. "You've been spying on us this entire time, haven't you?"

"No. I really was working as a mercenary. As for why I'm here, you didn't show earlier, so I asked some questions, and the trail led here. It wasn't that hard to sneak in, really."

Waltfeld shrugged. "True." He lowered his gun. "At any rate, this isn't a battlefield. Today, I owe the kid my life. I won't harm you. Leon, Tomoyo, please escort them out. Don't forget to let the girl change back, though."

Both Leon and Kira looked at the two men, hesitating. Waltfeld sighed, before turning to face Leon. "Don't worry. John and I are just going to have a little chat to catch up."

Leon nodded, slipped his stiletto back into its holster, and stood. He nodded, and Tomoyo stood as well. The pair walked to the doors, opening it. Before Kira and Cagalli had made it out, Waltfeld called out one more time. "I really enjoyed talking to you. I can't say whether it was beneficial or not, though."

Kira looked down. "Me neither…" he whispered.

"I'll be seeing you on the battlefield," Waltfeld said. Kira simply placed an arm around Cagalli's shoulder and walked out, Tomoyo behind them. Leon followed, closing the doors behind him.

Waltfeld nodded, and turned his gaze to John. "Now, old friend, where were we? Why'd you fake your death, anyway?"

* * *

Approximately 15 minutes later

Outside ZAFT African HQ

John walked out of the building, calmly approaching a fuming Cagalli and a slightly downcast Kira. Martin DaCosta waited with them, as did Leon and Tomoyo.

DaCosta beckoned towards the jeep. "Please, get on. I'll drop you off at the café where you met the commander." Cagalli got into the rear seat in a hurry, her anger still not appeased. John took the passenger seat next to the driver's seat.

Kira made to get in, but stopped, and faced Leon. "Before I go, there's something I want to ask you."

Leon regarded the brunet steadily. "Go on."

Kira hesitated, but plowed on determinedly. "You pilot the Sentinel… don't you…?"

It was Leon's turn to hesitate, but he nodded. "Yes… that's right. After today, you'd best forget about meeting me… it really _will_ just make it so much harder when we meet in battle once again."

Kira looked away, and Leon saw the sorrow in the brunet's eyes. _'I see… he's exactly like Athrun in that respect…'_

"Also… I want to give a message to Athrun. Please tell him that, when this war is over, I want to meet him again."

Leon nodded. "I will be sure to pass that along, Kira. You have my word." He hesitated once more, but extended a hand. "Although it would be best to forget about this meeting, it was still a pleasure to meet you."

Kira looked at Leon, and saw the conflict behind the ZAFT pilot's eyes. He accepted Leon's hand and shook it. "Same here, Leon. Maybe we'll meet again someday."

Leon let a smile touch the corners of his mouth. "You have a deal. Please stay alive long enough for that day to come." Kira mirrored Leon's expression, before getting on the jeep. DaCosta climbed in, hit the gas, and the jeep rolled off.

Kira thought over the people he'd met today. _'Mr. Waltfeld… Leon Vanyel… are they… truly my enemy?'_

Leon watched it go for a few seconds, before he turned, coming face-to-face with a somber Tomoyo. "What is it?" Leon asked.

"You're hurting," Tomoyo said. "You look like you just lost a friend."

Leon turned away. She'd hit it right on the bulls-eye. "That's the cruelty of war. Even before I met Kira Yamato, I didn't want to fight him, out of respect for Athrun's friendship with him. But now, after meeting him… it really is going to be so much harder to fight him."

"There was an honest look in his eyes," Tomoyo said, prompting Leon to look at her. "That Kira… he had an honest look in his eyes." She shook her head. "These really are cold times, aren't they…?"

"Yes, they are," Waltfeld suddenly said, appearing next to them. "The next time we meet will be on the battlefield, where we have to kill... or be killed." Waltfeld sighed. "It really is tough to shoot at someone you know personally, even if we are soldiers. But I just had to meet with that kid and speak to him face-to-face… even just once. Even if doing so may ultimately prove to be my undoing..."

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note: Well, that was a pretty long chapter. It took a while, but I managed to churn it out eventually. The next chapter will (finally) finish off the Desert Arc, and we can finally begin the countdown to the Fall of the Strike, an arc which I find will set the stage for the rest of this story.**

**We get to see a display of skills from Leon and Tomoyo as they act as Waltfeld's bodyguards for a chapter, and some more insight into their characterizations. The future chapters will begin to unravel exactly who they are, so be sure to look forward to it.**

**Again, please leave a review and let me know what you think! My readers' feedback encourages me to always do my best in writing!**

**Ja ne, minna-san! ^_^**


	13. Phase 13: Beyond the Clouds of Sand

**Well, this is the endgame for the Desert Arc. I don't have much to say, so I'll get on with it so we can say good-bye to Africa and hello to Orb and the Marshall Islands. By the goddess, I'm already giddy with anticipation.**

**Anyways, I won't keep you all waiting. Without much further ado, here is the next chapter, courtesy of yours truly.**

**Disclaimer: Again, the same as always, though I'll just add this little piece: John Alaric and his custom GINN both belong to ****Akatsuki Leader13****.**

* * *

Phase Thirteen: Beyond the Clouds of Sand

February 27, C.E. 71

* * *

Desert Dawn Main Camp

"So, if I understand correctly, you are actually Commander John Alaric, also known as the legendary Black Hawk. You faked your death, and used the name 'Victor Cain' as an alias to let you move without ZAFT or the Earth Forces being able to track you. You left your team in the hands of your subordinates, and have been fighting as a mercenary ever since."

John nodded. "That's right. Although, I will admit that isn't all I've been doing. I've also been investigating something important – something critical to this entire war. What it is, I can't tell you yet, but I will tell you that what I'm doing now, I'm doing for both Naturals and Coordinators. Also, I want you to keep my true identity a secret and omit that little fact from any reports you may make to your superiors. I can't have my cover blown; otherwise I'd have far too many people from both sides trying to have me silenced."

"Surely you realize that we can't simply conceal such important information, can you?" Badgiruel looked skeptical. "That is a very grave offense, and could result in a court martial were it ever discovered!"

"Don't worry. As long as nobody here decides to squeal, I can keep both parties off my trail," John said. "I wouldn't have survived this long as 'Victor Cain' if I didn't know how to cover my tracks. Once we've defeated the Tiger, though, I was wondering if I could come aboard and serve as a mercenary pilot for the _Archangel_. Even if we defeat Waltfeld, you'll still have a long way to go before you reach JOSH-A. I'm well-versed in ZAFT's land and naval tactics in spite of being the former commander of a space-based force. I can still be plenty help to you as a tactician, though I'll have you know I'm not a bad pilot, and I doubt anyone else can snipe as well as I can. I won't be lying, though, if I said that I was coming aboard because it would help me complete my investigations."

Murrue mulled over John's assessments, and found that he was indeed correct. "Very well, then. I accept your offer, Mr. Alaric."

"Captain!" Badgiruel made to argue. "We can't just -!"

Mu shook his head. "I agree with the captain. I've gone up against Mr. Alaric here in the past, and he's definitely far above most mobile suit pilots that ZAFT has to offer. Even with the Strike, the Raven, the Guardian, and my Skygrasper, we could really benefit from Mr. Alaric's skill and experience."

John turned to Sahib. "I'm sorry I kept it from you all this time, Sahib. I hope you haven't lost faith in me over that."

The guerrilla leader shook his head. "It's no problem. You've helped us a great deal in our fight. Whether you do so under an assumed name or your real identity is of no concern to me. Your personal matters are not my business, so it matters little to me."

John nodded. "Well, now that we've taken care of that, we can focus on the coming battle." He moved up to the tactical display. "The next battle will most likely be our last one against the Desert Tiger. It'll determine whether we can get past his forces or not, so you can be sure he won't take us lightly like he's done in all our previous engagements. It won't be an easy fight."

Badgiruel nodded. "The _Lesseps_ will be faster than the _Archangel_, especially in the desert terrain. That will leave us at a disadvantage."

Sahib gestured to a portion of the map. "This area here is full of caves left from abandoned mines." He pointed to another part. "This area is where we've laid our landmines. If we're going to choose the battlefield, then this would seem the perfect place to do so. Of course, the Tiger is hardly a fool, and he's most likely aware of this, as well. He'll want to fight us here, but under _his_ terms."

"I've known Waltfeld for a very long time – since we were kids, in fact," John said, looking at the display intently. "He's very cunning, and one shrewd customer. I'm sure he's going to have a nasty surprise for us, one that we have to prepare for."

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Mu asked, looking at Sahib. "With your equipment, you'll be taking heavy casualties in the coming battle." Sahib was silent a moment.

"We could do as the Tiger says, give up, and work for them," Sahib suddenly said. "It's a tempting offer, one that would guarantee us a peaceful life like what the people of Banadiya have. Our wives have, on many occasions, asked us to consider it." Sahib sighed heavily. "But a ruler's hand is very fickle, and has the capacity to be brutal. It is because of that sort of thing that our people have suffered for centuries. Our wish is simple: it is for us not to rule or be ruled. If we can just retake the Eastern Mines that the Tiger took over, then that simple wish can come true."

Mu nodded. "I see… I will count on your bravery to help us in the coming battle, then."

John turned to Murrue. "Captain Ramius… I was wondering if I could avail of the services of your hangar crew."

Murrue turned, a questioning expression written in her features. "Why? Is there something you need them for?"

John smiled. "Yes. Morale is everything for troops going into battle. I'm just going to make some adjustments to demoralize the Tiger's men when we face them. It'll give us one more advantage we could desperately use."

* * *

February 28, C.E. 71

_Lesseps_' Mobile Suit Hangar

"This'll be your first battle on Earth, won't it?" a voice said. Tomoyo looked up from her calibrations to her GINN's OS, quickly saluting as she realized that it was Andrew Waltfeld standing outside her GINN's cockpit.

"Commander Waltfeld." Waltfeld returned the salute, after which Tomoyo went back to typing, though her back had now locked upright, her entire posture iron-rigid.

Waltfeld returned the salute. "As you were, Asahara. You don't need to work while at attention. That'll just add to the stress and tension."

Tomoyo looked up, the barest hints of a smile tugging at her lips. "Thank you, sir. And, yes, this will be my first battle on Earth."

Waltfeld chuckled. "As always, you're calm and collected. Unlike those three who just came over from Gibraltar, you always have this look in your eyes that says you're thinking things through, and even looking far beyond what lies before you. To be honest, I'm actually very curious as to what you can see, and what you make of it all."

Tomoyo didn't stop typing, though her body language suggested she was someplace distant, recalling distant memories.

"I will admit that I joined ZAFT not because I believed in its cause or because I wanted to avenge those who died during the Bloody Valentine… No, I joined because I have to atone for my own past. I am completely against the idea of war, but a normal life is beyond my reach, so I will do the only thing I can do: I will fight to change the world for the better."

Waltfeld blinked at that. "To change the world, you say?"

Tomoyo nodded. "I won't say any more for now… However, I'll tell you this: my life is not as important as my wish for a brighter future. It's something I will gladly give my life for."

Waltfeld nodded. "I see… Thank you for sharing at least that little bit with me. Our estimated contact time is within the next two hours. Please be ready by then… and I wish you the best of luck with your mission."

With that, they exchanged salutes once more, before Waltfeld walked away, frowning.

"Tomoyo Asahara… answering one question about you just seems to open up even more questions… What happened to you, I wonder?"

* * *

_Archangel_'s Mess Hall

Kira poked at the meal sitting before him with a rather distinct lack of enthusiasm. To his left, Mu was doing the exact opposite, going through his meal with gusto. John stood behind them, his back against the wall. He held in his hand a cup of coffee – the fifth since they'd left the Desert Dawn's main camp. Across from Kira and Mu sat Chris and Flay, eating at a rather sedate pace. Kira noticed the pair sat quite a bit closer than normal, but he paid it no mind. Liz sat two seats to Kira's right, eating rather silently.

"Eat up, kid." Mu slid a doner kebab onto Kira's tray. "Come on. We're going to go into battle. You need to keep your strength up."

Kira nodded rather glumly. "I know."

Mu took a bite out of his kebab, swallowing it before he spoke again. "I love these things." He picked up a white bottle and held it out to Kira. "Here, try it with some yogurt sauce. It tastes great."

Kira stiffened slightly as Mu's words filled his head. Memories of his encounter from last week were quickly brought back to the fore. He never expected a man called the Desert Tiger to be so… normal. He was sure that, had they met under different circumstances, they could have become fast friends.

Mu looked at Kira, a slightly worried expression on his face.

"What's the matter, kid? You feeling okay?"

Kira nodded. "Yeah… it's just that… the Tiger said the same thing."

Mu nodded. "Huh… you don't say… well, I'll hand it to him. He knows his food. But… let me tell you… it's a lot easier if you didn't know your enemy. Just forget about him."

Kira and Chris winced slightly. For Chris, the same thing held true for Zane. But for Kira, the same now held true not just for Athrun, but for Andrew Waltfeld… and Leon Vanyel.

John chuckled. "He's not a machine, Lieutenant. Telling him to forget about Andy is pointless."

"Then what would you recommend?" Mu asked.

"I'd simply tell him to prepare himself to fight against Andy. The only way we can win here is to defeat Andy, and only Kira possesses both the skill _and_ the mobile suit to do it."

"But… how can you just say that? Didn't you say that Mr. Waltfeld was your best friend?" Kira questioned.

John shrugged, even as everyone else in the room stared at him. "Yes, he is. But if I don't ready myself to face Andy, then our odds of succeeding become that much smaller. I had a choice – whether to take an easy way out, or to do what needs to be done. I could just lay down my GINN's rifle and not take part in this battle… but I will do what needs to be done, and support you all in the coming battle. I will do what I have to do, even if it means I have to fight – or even kill – my friend."

Warning sirens suddenly blared throughout the ship, followed by Mir's voice. _"Enemy readings have been detected on the thermal sensors. All pilots are to stand-by in their mobile suits."_

John downed the last of his coffee. "That's it. It's starting." He made for the door, but stopped. "Good luck to you all. Be sure to stay alive, all right?"

Everyone rushed out of the mess hall, Flay heading for the bridge, the rest heading to the pilot ready room.

* * *

_Archangel_ Pilot Ready Room

"That's right! Lightning on Skygrasper One and Aile on Skygrasper Two! Why? Because it's faster for me to change fighters than it is for me to reequip!" Mu had already planned out his support plan based on which Striker packs would be most useful to Kira during the engagement proper. It had taken some time to convince the hangar crew, though.

Kira finished zipping up his pilot suit and shut his locker. Mu closed the comm. line with the hangar and faced Kira. "Well, I hate to say it, but we just can't rely on those guerrillas for help." He gave Kira a pat on the shoulder. "Normally, I'd wish you good luck, but with the way you've been fighting lately… I doubt you really even need it."

Mu's words suddenly brought Waltfeld's own words back into Kira's mind.

"Lieutenant?" Kira said. Mu stopped and turned back to face Kira. "What exactly is a berserker? Do you know?"

Chris and Liz both stared at Kira quizzically, confused by the odd question.

"A berserker, eh?" Mu repeated, frowning slightly. "Berserkers are mythological warriors who go crazy with rage whenever they go into battle."

"A… crazed warrior?"

Mu nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Berserkers were normally gentle, well-behaved people… but as soon as they enter battle, they turn into completely different people."

Kira's eyes widened slightly as Waltfeld's words took on a whole new meaning.

"What is it?" Mu asked. "Are you alright, Kira?"

"It's… uh… it's nothing," Kira replied. "Forget about it."

"_All pilots, proceed to your units immediately."_

"Whoops. We better hurry," Mu said. The three younger pilots followed Mu out as he rushed to the hangar.

* * *

_Lesseps_' Bridge

Waltfeld walked onto the bridge. "What's the status?"

The sensor officer turned to him. "Sir, we've… picked up a visual. You should see this."

Waltfeld nodded. "All right, put it up on the main screen."

The legged ship appeared, but what captured everyone's attention was the mobile suit on its top deck. It was a GINN HM Type, painted in black with white trim. A pair of white stripes ran down both forearms and both shins while a white hawk emblem was emblazoned on its left shoulder. It stood proudly, its rifle held before it in a ceremonial presentation of arms. Everyone in ZAFT knew that mobile suit: the personal GINN HM Type used by the Black Hawk himself…

Waltfeld chuckled to himself. "I see… so you've decided to throw down the glove, haven't you, John?"

An uneasy silence filled the bridge, as the image of the Black Hawk's GINN standing atop an Earth Forces warship was something akin to a slap in the face.

The communications officer looked up. "Sir, we have a message from the GINN. The pilot, claiming to be John Alaric, wants to speak to you."

Waltfeld grinned. "I'll answer it. Put it up."

"_Commander Andrew Waltfeld, this is John Alaric. As you know, I am currently fighting on the side of the _Archangel_ and the rebel group Desert Dawn. We are fighting simply to free these lands from outside control. You and I both do not wish to see lives end needlessly. In that respect, I challenge you to a duel. Should I win, the ZAFT forces must permanently withdraw from this region and allow the legged ship safe passage. Should you win, then the _Archangel_ shall make an unconditional surrender."_

Waltfeld felt his grin grow wider. He picked up the voice receiver and thumbed it on. "That's a tempting offer, my old friend. But my answer is no. I have my duties as a ZAFT commander, and I intend to see them through."

He thumbed the switch off, not bothering to wait for a reply, and gave the command.

"Launch all mobile suits!"

* * *

_Archangel_ Hangar and Launch Decks

"_APU activated. Strike, stand-by. Loading the Integrated Weapons Striker Pack."_

Kira watched as the large armament pack was loaded onto his mobile suit. The Integrated Weapon Striker Pack – abbreviated as IWSP – was the Strike's heaviest and most powerful module, combining the characteristics of the high-mobility Aile Striker, the close-combat Sword Striker, and the heavy artillery Launcher Striker. However, the benefits came at the price of being extraordinarily complex to handle, though that was hardly a problem for Kira's superior piloting abilities.

"Mr. Waltfeld… do we really have to fight each other?" Kira asked no one in particular.

"_Strike and Guardian, all systems green. You are cleared for launch."_

Kira shook it aside. He had to focus. "Kira Yamato, Strike, launching!"

"_Liz Dante, Guardian, ready to go!"_ The two catapults activated, sending the two mobile suits out into the desert sky. On the ground, BuCUEs were already emerging from the _Lesseps_, advancing on the _Archangel_ with a vengeance.

* * *

_Lesseps_ Mobile Suit Hangar

Waltfeld smiled up at his brand new, custom-colored LaGOWE. It was, in essence, a BuCUE with improvements to its performance all across the board by virtue of everything being built and upgraded to a higher specification. It possessed at least fifty percent more speed and maneuverability than the BuCUE, and greater combat power thanks to its head-mounted dual beam saber and back-mounted twin beam cannon. It also came with a gunner's seat in the cockpit, allowing the piloting and shooting to be divided between two people. Conveniently for Waltfeld, Aisha had already volunteered for the role.

"Commander, what the hell is going on here?" Waltfeld turned to face Yzak Joule as he and Dearka Elsman walked up to him. "Why are we stuck on top of the _Lesseps_ while Leon gets to be right on the front lines?"

"My, my... do all members of the Le Creuset Team object to the orders of a superior officer? Or are you just extra special?"

Yzak's bluster died down almost immediately. "No, sir. But we have more experience than anyone else fighting the legged ship and its mobile suits! No offense, sir, but we definitely have more than you do!"

Aisha smiled from where she stood beside Waltfeld. "Losing experience doesn't count."

"What?" Yzak demanded, his temper beginning to flare.

"Aisha," Waltfeld said reproachfully.

"I'm sorry," Aisha replied. Waltfeld nodded, and turned back to Yzak.

"It's simple why you're assigned to the _Lesseps_ and Leon's assigned to the front. Your mobile suits are optimized for artillery battles. You wouldn't be able to keep up with the BuCUEs in a high-speed land battle. Leon's Sentinel was designed for high-speed melee combat in both space _and_ the atmosphere, so it makes sense for him to be at the front."

"But sir, that's…! That's…!"

Dearka placed a hand on Yzak's shoulder. "Calm down, Yzak. We have our orders." He saluted Waltfeld. "Please excuse us, sir."

The blonde red coat steered Yzak around and away from Waltfeld.

Waltfeld sighed as he grabbed the LaGOWE's zip line. "Can you believe him? He's in for a rude awakening with that kind of mouthy insolence."

The hangar gates of the _Lesseps_ opened up, revealing the battle beyond. Unlike most ships, the _Lesseps_ was built for carrying BuCUEs, which is why it lacked the linear catapults used in ships like the _Laurasia_-class and _Nazca_-class.

"All right, DaCosta, I'm leaving you in charge of the ship," Waltfeld said as he hit a few switches, bringing the LaGOWE's systems online. In the gunner's seat in front of him, Aisha was doing the same, the targeting systems coming to life.

"_Yes, sir."_

"Waltfeld, LaGOWE, heading out!" Waltfeld hit the controls, activating the LaGOWE's wing-mounted thrusters and sending it flying out into the battle.

* * *

Desert Battleground

Kira pulled the Strike to the side, avoiding a salvo of missiles before responding with his railguns and cannons. The volley of shots struck two BuCUEs, dismembering them before they exploded.

"Damn… just how many are there?"

Those were already the third and fourth enemy units to fall to the Strike IWSP's overwhelming firepower, yet there seemed to be no end in sight. His proximity warning suddenly sounded, alerting him to the approach of an enemy unit. Kira drew one of his anti-ship swords as he turned and struck, only for the weapon to collide with the Sentinel's beam blade.

Kira's eyes widened in slight shock as he pushed the Sentinel back and fired with his cannons and railguns. The Sentinel, using its back and leg-mounted thrusters to hover mere meters off the ground, evaded the shots with ease, dancing back and forth through them before closing in once again, lunging forward with its beam blade.

Kira grit his teeth as he blocked once more, and quickly activated his comm. unit, setting it to an open channel. "Leon… is that you?"

There was a slight pause before a voice – Leon's voice – replied as Leon's image appearing on Kira's screen. _"Yes… it's me, Kira. I had a feeling you wouldn't take my advice to heart."_ The Sentinel broke the deadlock and struck with its other beam blade, Kira once again using his anti-ship sword to block the attack.

"Leon, isn't there any way we can settle this without a fight?" Kira asked, pushing against the Sentinel with every bit of power the Strike could give. "I don't want to have to fight you!"

"_I don't want to fight you either, Kira,"_ Leon replied. _"But, as long as we remain on different sides, we're destined to fight each other. Just like you and Athrun are."_

"But… must we really do this?" Kira asked as the two Gundams broke apart and leaped back several meters, opening the distance between each other.

Leon closed his eyes. _"Kira… you're a skilled pilot… you possess sharp instincts, an analytical mind, and perfect judgment during battle. Some might say you were even born to be a pilot. However…"_ Leon suddenly opened his eyes. The cold icy blue had disappeared, revealing two molten red-and-gold irises. _"You're too kind a soul to be fighting. You can't protect your friends if you're not committed enough to shoot down your enemies."_

Leon gunned the Sentinel's thrusters and charged forward with such speed that Leon was rammed back into his seat. He reared his left blade back and stabbed forward with it. Kira raised his anti-ship sword into position and moved the beam blade out of line before raising his shield and smashing it right into the Sentinel.

Leon let the Sentinel fall back, cushioned by its thrust power, and flipped the suit upright, lashing out with the left arm's Ouroboros claw and tearing right into the Strike's shield. _"On a battlefield, you have to fire at your opponent… no matter who he is. Even if it's me, even if it's Commander Waltfeld… even if it's Athrun…"_ Kira suddenly detected a hint of regret and pain in his tone. _"If you hesitate, you… or perhaps someone precious to you… will die. Remember that."_

"If I hesitate…?" Kira murmured. Images of his last encounter with Athrun flowed through his mind. Of when he and Athrun had both vowed to shoot the other down without mercy. What if he did hesitate… would that get someone killed? No, he couldn't let that happen!

The Sentinel suddenly lowered its blades, surprising Kira. _"That's enough for now. There is no need for us to cross blades… not today, at least."_ The cerulean mobile suit lifted into the air and flew off towards another part of the battle.

* * *

Liz evaded fire coming from the _Petrie_ and _Lesseps_ as she put the Guardian's firepower to good use, slagging gun turrets and ZuOOTs on the two land ships. She pulled up out of range of their weak return fire after her run and opened a comm. line to the Raven.

"Chris, how does it look?" she asked.

"_We've still got six BuCUEs around… and I can still count around fifteen ZuOOTs between the two enemy ships. The _Lesseps_ also has the Duel and Buster on top of it, so it's a bit of trouble assaulting it. The _Archangel _is… oh, shit! _Archangel_, look -!"_

The warning hadn't even left Chris' mouth when a third ZAFT ship – the _Henry Carter_ – emerged from behind a rock face, a pair of ZuOOTs standing on top of it. The land battleship and the ZuOOTs fired, sending in a scattered wave of missiles and cannon fire which Neumann barely managed to evade. However, the _Henry Carter_ was simply a distraction that would push the _Archangel_ right into the Desert Tiger's real trap.

* * *

Tomoyo brought up the advanced multi-target system installed in her GINN and locked onto the legged ship, finding firing solutions for every weapon she could bring to bear. A constant tone for a solid lock sounded, but she kept her trigger finger loose.

'_Not yet… it's not yet the right time…'_

The _Henry Carter_ and its ZuOOTs fired again, Neumann rolling the massive warship and managing to escape with minimal damage.

A message from the _Henry Carter_ popped up on her main screen, informing her that the _Archangel_ had entered the factory district.

"Go down!" she yelled, pulling the trigger and sending out a hail of bullets, missiles and beams. Her precision fire struck the _Archangel_'s vulnerable starboard, sending its port leg careening into the factory's ruins.

"First Phase has been completed. Preparing to engage," Tomoyo reported. Firing solutions presented themselves, and the constant tone of a good lock sounded. The silver-gray-haired Redcoat smiled, and pulled the trigger.

* * *

"Damn, this isn't good…" John muttered as he continued to snipe targets with relentless, surgical precision. After his fifth shot had blown right through the head of a ZuOOT, he looked around. Not finding any targets of opportunity in his firing arc, he scanned the battlefield for more targets, before he saw it.

A distinctive BuCUE-like mobile suit painted in the Desert Tiger's colors was advancing towards the Strike. He sighted in and fired, but the mobile suit moved to the side a split-second before he pulled the trigger, evading the shot.

"I need a better vantage point… It's no use trying to snipe Andy like this." As if to answer his unspoken request, his comm. unit came to life.

"_Mr. Alaric!"_ Chris said as the Raven flew by in mobile armor mode. _"Hop on; I'll give you a lift."_

John grinned. "Thanks, kid. I appreciate it." The black GINN leaped up onto the Raven, and the midnight-blue mobile armor took to the skies, where John began raining down shots with his sniper rifle, destroying what was left of the Tiger's BuCUEs.

* * *

The orange machine fired the dual beam cannon on its back, aiming for the Strike. Kira brought his shield up to intercept the shots before drawing the Midas Messer beam boomerang from it and throwing it at the new quadruped mobile suit. It dodged to the side, but the BuCUE behind it was destroyed by the boomerang.

"Mr. Waltfeld… is that you…?" Kira questioned as he traded shots with the orange mobile suit using his shoulder-mounted railguns. The quadruped suddenly turned and charged the Strike, igniting a dual beam saber as it closed in. Kira drew one of his anti-ship swords and parried the saber, forcing the mobile suit out of line, before slicing through one of its forelegs.

"He really is good, Andy…" Aisha said, her tone both bewildered and amazed, as she fired on the Strike, the mobile suit once again evading her shots. "I can't come close to hitting him."

"Well, I'll be damned." Waltfeld chuckled as he continued to maneuver the LaGOWE through the Strike's return fire. "He's not just good… he's completely beyond unbelievable. He wasn't like this the last time I fought against him… If anything, he's even better than before."

Waltfeld chuckled. "Indeed… he's a worthy opponent!" He pushed the LaGOWE's thrusters up to full and dove back into the battle, Aisha trading shots with the Strike.

* * *

Yzak grit his teeth as the ZuOOT standing next to him exploded, a victim of the Black Hawk's sniper rifle.

"Ugh, dammit!" Yzak quickly keyed his comm. unit. "Dearka, Zane, let's move in on the legged ship and attack!"

Dearka's expression suggested he thought his silver-haired teammate was insane. _"Yzak, we were ordered not to leave the ship…"_

"Do you want to be a sitting duck?" Yzak activated the Duel's thrusters, leaping off of the top deck of the _Lesseps_.

"_Damn it all…"_ Dearka muttered as he followed Yzak's lead, Zane right behind him.

The three mobile suits descended on the legged ship, but were stopped as several shots lanced through the air, barely missing the Buster and Zane's CGUE and cutting them off from the Duel.

"_What? Where's it coming from?"_ Dearka shouted as the Buster and CGUE lost their momentum and crashed into the desert sand below.

"Dearka?" Yzak looked up as the Guardian swooped by, evidently the cause of the attack. Yzak grit his teeth, landing the Duel on the top deck of the legged ship. He made to fire, but a sniper shot took his rifle out, while the Raven, in mobile armor form, crashed into the Duel, sending him to the desert below.

* * *

Tomoyo frowned as shots from the three land battleships forced the legged ship's form even deeper into the factory ruins. _'I can't get a clear shot like this…'_ She deactivated her targeting systems and leaped up off the _Lesseps_, activating her thrusters to keep the GINN a few meters off the desert sands.

A pair of beams lanced into the sand near Tomoyo, causing her to look up into the skies. She spotted the Guardian on approach, firing linked beams at her GINN.

"Tch… of all the…" She brought her beam rifle up and fired back. The Guardian rolled, transforming into mobile suit mode as it did so. It drew a beam saber, forcing Tomoyo to draw her GINN's sword to intercept.

"Not good…" Tomoyo murmured. She pushed the Guardian off and swung her sword, aiming for the vulnerable points located in the gaps in the Gundam's armor. The Guardian took the attack with its saber, bringing its shield up and smashing it right into the GINN, sending it tumbling off balance.

Her GINN hit the sand and came down on one knee, skidding to a stop. Her sensors alerted her to an enemy approaching… _from above_. She looked up and found a midnight-blue mobile armor soaring above her. A black GINN leaped off, firing a round from its sniper rifle and knocking Tomoyo's sword out of her GINN's hand. Seeing its opening, the Raven shifted to mobile suit mode and descended, drawing a beam saber and rearing it back to skewer her.

Tomoyo began to move to evade, but the sand beneath it gave way, trapping the GINN's foot. "No, not now!" She looked up, eyes wide as the beam saber descended. She shut her eyes and waited for the inevitable…

A barrage of missiles streaked in at the Raven, forcing it to back off. Tomoyo quickly opened her eyes, surprise evident on her features, and checked her sensors.

"_Hey, don't give up just yet! This fight isn't over!"_ Zane Scirocco's CGUE charged into the fray, firing his thermal cannon. _"Take the Hawk! I'll handle the rest!" _Zane closed in with the Raven, discarding his shield along the way before drawing his sword and swinging it with all the speed he could muster. The Raven brought its beam saber up, taking the full force of the impact.

"Ugh, damn…" Chris grit out as he ducked his former friend's attack, crashing the Raven into the sand. "Zane… why now, of all times?" Chris turned and raised his shield, blocking a shot from Zane's thermal cannon. He quickly drew a beam saber and swung, the weapon colliding with the CGUE's sword.

"Chris!" Liz shouted, moving the Guardian towards the Raven to help her brother. She fell short as a beam lanced through the space between them, cutting off the two suits. All eyes turned to the source of the shot and saw the Sentinel approaching rapidly.

"Now it's three-on-three! Why don't you guys try and play fair, eh?" Leon said as he closed in and joined the fray.

"The Sentinel…" Liz murmured. "He's mine!" The Guardian turned on the cerulean mobile suit, letting lose with its grenade launchers. Leon quickly boosted power to his thrusters, kicking the Sentinel high into the air. Leon fired his beam rifle at the Guardian as he pulled out one of his beam glaives. Liz pulled up the Guardian's shield, blocking the shots, before leaping up at the Sentinel to engage it in mid-air.

"Good choice!" Leon called out, a satisfied smile on his face. The Guardian shifted into mobile armor mode and activated its wing-mounted blades, closing in with the Sentinel far too fast for Leon to maneuver out of the way. The golden-brown-haired red coat quickly cut power to his thrusters, allowing the Sentinel to fall out of harm's way. He reactivated his thrusters and rolled, tossing the beam glaive like a javelin. The glaive pierced the right wing, taking away much of the Guardian's maneuverability.

The Guardian quickly transformed in mid-air, drawing a beam saber and bringing it down on the Sentinel. Leon responded by activating both beam blades. He batted the saber aside with one and attacked with the other, Liz bringing up her shield up to block it. The beam blade cut into the shield, gouging out a long tear in it, but sparing the rest of the machine.

"Ugh… he's tough!" Liz said as she discarded her shield and drew her other beam saber.

* * *

Tomoyo grit her teeth, parrying the Black Hawk's dual swords with her recovered sword. She switched her GINN's grip on the glaive and gave it a sudden twist, managing to force the Black Hawk's heavy swords out of his grip.

"Those are some interesting moves… could she be…?" John asked himself as he took to the air. He pulled out his GINN's assault rifle and opened fire, Tomoyo hitting her thrusters and maneuvering her silver-white GINN back, the bullets landing in the sand and kicking up a large cloud of dust. His eyes narrowed, before a lock-on warning signal sounded in his cockpit.

"Just… get out of my way!" Tomoyo shouted as she fired with every weapon she could bring to bear on the Black Hawk. A stream of missiles, bullets, grenades, and beams emerged from the cloud and streaked in at the customized GINN.

John danced his GINN around, forcing the ballistics to overshoot his mobile suit. Deprived of their targets, the missiles began a wild course, slamming into the factory ruins and freeing the _Archangel_.

"Tch… that's not good…" Tomoyo murmured as she gazed down at her weapons display. The ballistic weapons were all in the red zone, indicating they were almost out of ammo. She bit back a curse and brought up her targeting sights. Tomoyo pulled the trigger and began exchanging shots with the Black Hawk using her beam rifle, holding back on using up any more ammo.

* * *

The Sentinel and Guardian clashed once more, twin beam sabers meeting twin beam blades. Leon almost smiled; the Guardian's pilot had improved compared to the last time they'd fought. He was being forced to constantly stay on the move, the Guardian attacking from all ranges with its variety of weapons. It was sure to be draining the Guardian's power, but Leon knew his constant use of his high-speed thrusters were starting to take a toll on the Sentinel's power reserves as well. He had to finish this soon.

He narrowed his eyes, the two molten red-and-gold irises examining his options, and made his move. As the Guardian moved in to attack once more, Leon set the Sentinel, one blade raised, one lowered and back. The Guardian struck from above, swinging its right-hand saber diagonally down, intending to split the cerulean mobile suit from shoulder to hip.

Leon made his move, batting the attacking saber aside with the upraised beam blade, before slicing right through the top of the Guardian's left-hand saber. He deactivated the left arm beam blade and fired the Ouroboros out. The claw latched onto the Guardian's right arm with a vice-like grip, the fangs beginning to tear through the armor.

Liz's eyes widened as the Sentinel's crimson eyes flashed. The Phase Shift fangs clamped down, completely crushing the forearm armor and most of the inner mechanisms, leaving the Guardian's right arm useless. The claw released the purple mobile suit, leaving it almost completely defenseless. Leon looked at his power meter and smiled. His combat power had just run out, leaving him around five minutes worth of reserve power.

Leon closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes, the two irises having returned to their icy blue hue.

"… _so, are you going to end it, or what?"_ Leon looked up, and on the display screen was a female pilot in an Earth Forces pilot suit.

Leon smiled and keyed his own comm. unit. "No. You gave me a good fight. What's your name?"

The female pilot gave him a quizzical look. _"Huh? It's Liz… Liz Dante."_

"Well, then… Liz." Leon threw a salute. "It was fun, crossing swords with you. My name is Leon… Leon Vanyel. Perhaps we can do this again sometime in the future." With that said, Leon cut the comm. and retreated. Liz, in the Guardian, was momentarily confused, but decided not to question her good fortune and pulled back towards the _Archangel_.

* * *

The Strike and the LaGOWE exchanged fire once more. Waltfeld managed to evade the Strike's shots, while Aisha's return fire speared the Strike's beam rifle, destroying it. Kira opened up with the shield-mounted 30mm gatling as he drew an anti-ship sword.

The battle had been long and hard for both sides in general… but especially for these two. Both machines were already running on dangerously low power levels, but everyone knew… that it was going to end one way or another.

Waltfeld chanced a look at the _Lesseps_, and blinked in surprise. All the ZuOOTs were gone, as were the land battleship's cannons and missile launchers. The _Petrie_ and _Henry Carter_ were both smoking wrecks, leaving no doubt in Waltfeld's mind.

He keyed his comm. unit. "DaCosta, signal a full retreat. Get all of our surviving forces out of here. I'll buy them some time to get away."

DaCosta nodded. _"Yes, sir. But, what about -?"_

"That's an order! Don't let them die in vain, DaCosta!" Waltfeld said, closing the comm. line before his aide could say anything further. He turned to his gunner and lover.

"You too, Aisha…" he said, his voice gentle.

Aisha shook her head. "I'd rather die than leave you behind."

Waltfeld smiled fondly. "You're… a very foolish woman… you're as much of an idiot as I am…"

"I think I like it that way," Aisha replied.

"All right…" Waltfeld said. "Let's do it!"

"Please stop, Mr. Waltfeld!" Kira pleaded as he dodged the LaGOWE's lunge, his return swipe cutting the dual beam cannon free. "There's no reason for us to fight anymore!"

"_Kid… Kira… I already told you… I'm not giving up until one of us is destroyed!"_

Waltfeld charged in once more, dual beam saber active. Kira leaped aside, cutting only a wing apart. The brunet hesitated to attack once again, but Leon's words suddenly flooded back into his mind. Kira shut his eyes, the words repeating themselves over and over in his head.

_If you hesitate, you… or perhaps someone precious to you… will die._

'_I can't let that happen… I can't…'_ Kira opened his eyes. "I CAN'T LET THEM DOWN!" An amethyst, jewel-like seed raced through his mind, shattering in a brilliant explosion of light.

"_You hesitated when you could have killed me…"_ Waltfeld said over the comm. line. _"That's going to cost you your life, Kira!"_

Kira discarded his shield, drew the second anti-ship sword, and charged forward to meet Waltfeld's final charge. "Fighting like this only results in meaningless death! Why can't you see that?"

The two mobile suits clashed, and passed each other. The last of the Strike's power was expended, the Phase Shift armor fading to a dull gray, while the LaGOWE, now missing both wings and with a large slash across its back, fell to the ground.

"Aisha… I'm sorry that I… dragged you into this…" Waltfeld said as he embraced Aisha, electricity crackling around them.

"No… as long as I'm with you…" The two tightened their last, loving embrace… before the LaGOWE's compromised powerplant overloaded. The Desert Tiger's mobile suit exploded, a spectacular fireball tearing it apart before consuming it.

On a nearby cliff face, the five pilots from the Le Creuset Team saluted crisply along with the surviving ZAFT soldiers who had survived the battle, offering their final respects to the fallen commander.

Leon felt a stinging sensation behind his eyes, felt his hand tremble as he struggled to keep his composure, before he felt Tomoyo suddenly cling to him, her tears soaking into his pilot suit. He felt his resolve crack ever further, prompting him to glance at his teammates. He saw Dearka give him a nod before turning away. Yzak and Zane had already turned their backs, letting Leon know that it was alright – officially and unofficially, the trio would behave as if it had never happened.

Leon wrapped his arms around Tomoyo's shaking shoulders, holding her frame closer to him, and listened to Tomoyo cry. He listened as Tomoyo shed tears for the two of them. He listened as she cried for the ZAFT commander who had done everything to make them feel welcome in unfamiliar surroundings. He listened as she cried for the eccentric, coffee-loving man who had done everything to make them feel appreciated, as if they were one of his own. He listened as she cried for the man who, without any questions, had quickly and easily befriended them and looked out for their well-being. Leon held onto Tomoyo as she cried, unable to shed tears of his own.

The Black Hawk's GINN, too, saluted in the style only the Alaric Team knew how, in a presentation of arms. The cockpit hatch was open, John standing up and saluting his fallen friend. A lone tear trickled down his cheek as he gazed upon the fiery remains of Andrew Waltfeld's LaGOWE.

'_Rest in peace, Andy… Your last fight… was indeed glorious, just like you wanted.'_

In the Strike, Kira shook uncontrollably as he stared at the results of his and Waltfeld's final clash.

"It didn't have to…" He punched the Strike's main console. "It didn't have to end like this!"

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, that ending was rather emotional, all things considered. Sometimes I wonder where the inspiration for original content comes from. Ah, well… with this, the Desert Arc comes to a close, bringing this story into a brand-new chapter: the Marshall Islands Arc. It is where everything comes crashing down for some, while opening opportunities for others. At any rate, it is something for everyone to look forward to.**

**I hope you readers will have the heart to review! PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO!**

**Ja ne, minna-san! ^_^**


	14. Phase 14: The Sea Dyed Red

**Well, here we go… Phase Fourteen.**

**I must say I expected to get this out earlier… but I've been sidetracked being the Beta-Reader of ****Maileesaeya****'s "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Serenity"… and with our joint project, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED – Legends. I highly suggest checking out both, if you haven't done so already.**

**Some statistics... only FOUR REVIEWS from the last chapter... am I really that bad...? Or are you people just not interested and reading it just out of courtesy?  
**

**Anyways, I digress. On with the show!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam SEED, or any affiliated characters, mecha, etc. The rest… just check previous chapters.**

* * *

Phase Fourteen: The Sea Dyed Red

March 1, C.E. 71

* * *

Gibraltar Base

Pilot Lounge

"Dammit, when the hell are we going to get another chance at that ship?" Yzak yelled at basically everyone and no one. It was easy to understand his frustration. Even the presence of the Alaric and Waltfeld Teams on several of their previous battles with the legged ship had not helped to change the final outcome – they were beaten back every single time. The five Le Creuset Team pilots at Gibraltar were most definitely itching to get back out there and take another shot at the legged ship, after having suffered defeats time and time again.

Well, Yzak and Zane were more than eager to do so, at the very least, though Zane was surprisingly less volatile than their silver-haired teammate. Dearka was, as usual, satisfied to let things run as they would, and was in no particular hurry to head out. It wasn't every day that you made it out from a major engagement when almost everyone else on your side was dead… though the team's two resident hotheads were a little too fired up to realize that. Tomoyo was simply content with sitting at a lounge chair and staring out the window, her blue eyes watching the ocean. A look of peace and contentment adorned the normally guarded girl's features, and the other three pilots had noticed it – this was really the first time they'd seen her so… peaceful and unguarded.

"Calm down, Yzak," Dearka said, knowing that his words were doomed to fall on deaf ears. "You know the top brass have a lot more to think about than just us."

Yzak just about exploded. "What the hell are you talking about, Dearka? That damned ship and its mobile suits have humiliated us time and time again! That damn ship is probably on their way to Natural territory while we're sitting here wasting time!"

Zane nodded. "Aside from our personal vendettas, that ship is very important to the Earth Forces' war efforts. I doubt that the mobile suit data has managed to reach the Alliance, and it would be a major coup if we manage to capture or destroy the legged ship."

"We have more experience against that ship than any other force in ZAFT," Yzak said. "We should be the primary choice for such an operation."

"The problem with that, Yzak, is that none of our machines can operate well underwater," Tomoyo said, having finally decided to join the conversation. She turned to face her scarred teammate. "None of our machines can fly independently, either. Unfortunately for us, the only prototypes that can do just that just so happen to be with the legged ship."

Dearka looked thoughtful for a moment. "What about those Guuls?" he asked. "It _should_ be a simple task to adjust them to our machines, right?"

Tomoyo shook her head. "We _could_ use Guuls to fly, yes, but that would take away our mobile suits' maneuverability, the main advantage we have over the legged ship," she replied. "We'd be much easier targets, and the Guuls aren't built using Phase Shift Armor. No, the way I see it, High Command must be waiting for an opportunity where the Le Creuset Team can engage the legged ship in more favorable terrain. Since the legged ship _should_ be heading for Alaska, they'll be passing through the Red Sea, and then the Indian Ocean, places where the Le Creuset Team's options would be limited. If I were the top brass… then I'd be anticipating the legged ship's movements and moving a naval-based team into position somewhere within the area of the Indian Ocean. While they wear down the legged ship with attacks in unfamiliar terrain, I'd have the rest of the Le Creuset Team sent down here from space, move the entire team to Carpentaria, and then have us engage the legged ship somewhere near the Marshall Islands, where we can fight a little more freely."

Zane questioningly raised an eyebrow. "Tactical analysis, Tomoyo? You never seemed the type," he remarked. "I simply thought you were one of our infiltration experts aside from being a test pilot for prototype mobile suit equipment."

"Certainly doesn't seem that way, does it, Zane?" the silver-gray-haired red coat replied, an amused smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "You're right, I _am_ one of the team's infiltration specialists, but my skills are only needed on commando operations. That's why I also took up tactical analysis and forecasting. The thing is, I got noticed for it, which is why I ended up taking the accelerated training regimen in that area."

At that point, Leon – their temporary team leader – walked in, a portable comm. terminal tucked in under his arm. "We've got orders, just handed down from the top brass," he said, a sudden, highly dangerous, and anticipatory light dancing in his icy blue eyes. "We're to standby and await the arrival of the rest of the Le Creuset Team here at Gibraltar. When they get here, Commander Le Creuset will issue us our next orders, likely pertaining to the legged ship."

Yzak, a slightly surprised expression on his face, turned to Tomoyo. "It happened just like you said it would," he said. "How'd you know?"

Tomoyo shrugged. "It was a bit of a long-shot, but I figured that the top brass would somehow take into consideration the strength of the legged ship's mobile suits, and realize that the only ones that can match them are…"

"Our own," Yzak said, smirking. "That's not bad logic. Not bad at all…"

"Any logic looks good to you as long as it gets you what you want," Leon replied, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "I doubt you'd know the difference even if it slapped you in the face."

"What did you say?" Yzak yelled, getting a chuckle from Dearka. He huffed, before calming himself down with surprising speed. "That's the best news I've heard all week, Leon. You might not have anything that makes it better, would you?"

Leon kept a smile from his face – seeing Yzak actually happy about something didn't happen very often. "As a matter of fact, I do. It actually _does_ get even better. Until the rest of the team gets here, we've been – now contain yourself, Dearka – officially granted shore leave." The mood in the room immediately lifted, with Dearka letting out a cheer at their good fortune. Even Yzak and Zane found the prospect of some recreation time to be a pleasant surprise, especially during wartime. "Your time is your own, but please do try to stay within town, and always carry your comm. units on your person."

Dearka grinned. "Well, now that we know that we're _officially_ on leave, who's up for hitting town?"

The rest of the team let out a mix of reactions – amused chuckles from Leon and Zane, a sigh of exasperation from Yzak, and a stifled giggle from Tomoyo.

Indeed… who else but Dearka could be on vacation mode without any permission from the top?

* * *

The _Archangel_

March 3, C.E. 71

The _Archangel_ smoothly glided along the Indian Ocean, almost as if it was truly built for the seas instead of space. Off on the deck on top of the starboard Gottfried, Chris, Liz, Tolle, Mir, and Flay were enjoying the ocean breeze along with the sights and sounds of the massive body of water.

"Wow… guys, look at all that water…" Liz said, completely in awe. The ocean truly was a breathtaking sight, especially up close like this.

"Oh, yeah… it _is_ your first time at sea, isn't it…?" Tolle asked.

Chris chuckled lightly. "Actually, it's our first time to be on _Earth_," he said as he leaned up on the guardrail, his hair lightly stirring in the breeze.

"Really?" Mir said. "It must be a lot different compared to what you're used to, then."

Chris smiled. "It really is different. I mean… I've seen pictures of the deserts and oceans here on Earth, but to actually see them with my own eyes… it's really something else. The pictures don't do them justice at all." He let out a content little sigh and settled back against the guardrail.

This was how life should have been… no worries, no fighting… but Chris knew it was simply a reprieve. It was only a matter of time until ZAFT came knocking on their doorstep once again.

"By the way, where's Kira?" he suddenly asked after a quick look around told him that the brunet Coordinator was missing.

Tolle shrugged. "He's still in the hangar, I think," he replied.

Chris sighed. "Well, I guess someone's dedicated to working his ass off…" he muttered. "All right, I'll go and get him. He needs to learn to relax."

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

"The Earth Forces have certainly left you in a difficult position," Kisaka said as he looked at the map. "Although I'm sure you have enough food and water, it would be wise to avoid the enemy wherever possible."

"But sailing out into the Indian Ocean like this is a very risky plan," Natarle added. "If ZAFT attacks us out here, we wouldn't have anywhere to escape to."

"There is no 'safe route' in this situation," John said. "No matter which route we take to Alaska, there will be danger. All things considered, it's definitely the _safest_ route. ZAFT does not have the numbers to just go out and seize new territory without good reason. They're stretched thin as it is, and their situation won't get any better with the loss of the Waltfeld Team. ZAFT shouldn't have any major presence here in the middle of the ocean. As long as we can avoid any major ZAFT naval-based teams, we'll be just fine."

He nodded. "That's my input, at any rate," he said. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to the hangar and finish up on my machine… Particularly, I want to finish adapting those beam sabers to my GINN and vice-versa."

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Rear Upper Deck

Kira sighed, thoughts running back to his conversations and battles with Andrew Waltfeld. He hadn't meant to kill Waltfeld or Aisha… It had been an accident. He wasn't going to let Waltfeld kill him, but he'd hardly planned for the Armor Schneider to pierce the LaGOWE's powerplant. His target had been the neck. If he could've just severed the head of the machine…

But that wasn't how it had happened, and Kira couldn't do a thing to change it now. He hated all this killing.

Thoughts of Waltfeld, of killing an enemy who he knew personally, soon turned his thoughts to Athrun… and to Leon. If killing Waltfeld had been like this, what would it be like if Kira eventually killed either of them, or vice versa? And how would Chris feel if he had to kill Zane?

"Hey, Kira…" Cagalli called out as she stepped out onto the deck behind him, causing Kira to look over his shoulder at her. "I see you came out for a little fresh air too."

Kira sighed as he straightened up, ready to leave. He really didn't want to talk to Cagalli about this. Chris was probably the only one among the crew he could really talk to about it, after all.

"Kira, have you been crying?" Cagalli asked curiously as she stepped up next to him. Kira turned to leave, ignoring her question, but she reached out and grabbed his wrist, stopping him. "Wait."

Kira paused for a moment to look back at her, frowning. Cagalli looked away almost guiltily, letting go of him, and he again started to walk away when she suddenly ran over to him and grabbed him in a hug.

"It's alright," she said, her voice soothingly soft and her tone surprisingly gentle. "It's okay. Everything's going to be okay. Don't worry, it'll be just fine."

At that instant, the door opened, and the two glanced over to see Chris standing there, staring at them in surprise.

"I… er… I…. sorry," he said, stumbling through his words. "I, uh… didn't mean to interrupt anything. I'll be going now." He turned to walk away.

Cagalli pushed Kira back, and Chris saw that both were blushing. "It's not like that at all!" Cagalli said. "Kira looked upset and I was just…"

"I don't want to know," Chris replied as he walked through the door. "And I'm not going to mention anything to anyone."

* * *

_Vosgulov_-class submarine _Varnass_

"_I was quite shocked to learn about Commander Waltfeld's death,_" Rau Le Creuset said, his pre-recorded message playing on the monitor. "_I feel partly responsible, as I should've never allowed the legged ship to land on Earth. His death is a tremendous loss._"

Marco Morassim, holding a mug of coffee as he approached his bed – the monitor right next to it – scoffed slightly, not believing Le Creuset's words for an instant.

"_In a short time, I shall arrive on Earth for Operation Spitbreak,_" continued the recording. "_The legged ship and its crew are formidable adversaries, so I trust that I will be able to count on your capable assistance when the time comes, Commander Morassim._"

Anything else that might've been said was cut off as Morassim slammed his fist down on the shut off switch.

"That punk Le Creuset," he said spitefully. "That man's got some serious nerve, sending me a condescending message like that. But… it really doesn't matter. I'll go along with his plan. But I'll be the one who fells this so-called 'legged ship'."

* * *

The _Archangel_

"You know, you're a pretty strange guy," Cagalli remarked, sitting by the deck door as Kira leaned against the rail. "Take the other day, for example, when you totally freaked out and then slapped me."

"Oh… sorry," Kira said apologetically. As he recalled the incident, though, he realized that he'd simply lost all patience with the angry tomboy.

"Well… it's… not that I'm really mad," Cagalli replied. "But I wonder sometimes why on earth you're a Coordinator in the first place."

"What?" Kira questioned.

"Oh… that didn't come out right," Cagalli said, sounding apologetic. "I mean… why are you fighting for the Earth Forces if you're a Coordinator?"

"You probably think that's strange," said Kira, pushing off the rail and taking a few steps towards her. He stopped, and looked up at the sky. "I get that a lot." His thoughts turned, if only briefly, to everything Athrun, Garcia, and Waltfeld had said to him about being a Coordinator fighting for Naturals.

"Whether or not people think you're strange isn't the point," Cagalli said as Kira sat down next to her. "We're at war because Coordinators and Naturals are determined to exterminate each other no matter what the cost. I mean, don't you have strong feelings about that?"

"What about you?" Kira replied softly.

"My feelings towards someone have nothing to do with their being Coordinator or Natural," she said.

"Same here," Kira said evenly.

"But I also think that when somebody attacks you in a war, you have no choice but to fight back," Cagalli continued.

"It's easy to believe that," Kira said. They were quiet for a moment before Kira spoke again. "You know, there's no difference between Coordinators… and everyone else."

"But you guys can do so much more stuff than we can," Cagalli said. "You're talented in all these different ways, and you're born with them."

"Only if we sharpen our skills by practicing, studying, and training properly," Kira replied. "Like Naturals, we're born with potential. We're not gifted just because we're Coordinators."

"Hmm… well then, I guess you are the same," Cagalli said.

"It is true that we don't catch deadly diseases," Kira continued. "And that we had our genes altered before we were born to enhance our physical and mental abilities. But I thought everyone aspired to that… even Naturals. That's why we exist."

"Yeah, you're right," Cagalli agreed.

"So, why the war?" Kira asked.

"I… I don't know," Cagalli said honestly. "I really don't know…"

"Nothing is ever simple," Kira said softly. "If there's one thing I've learned in all this, then that's it."

The two were silent for a few minutes, but the quiet was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the alarm.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Hangar

The hangar deck was a flood of activity as the mechanics rushed to get the mobile suits and Skygraspers prepped for launch. While Kira headed to the pilot ready room to suit up, Cagalli approached the second Skygrasper, intending to launch.

"Hold it right there!" Johanna Dante said, blocking her path. "This one's still not ready for launch! Maintenance isn't complete because of the work on the GINN."

"Ugh, damn it!" Cagalli cursed.

"Just sit back and wait while we get this one fixed," Johanna said.

"So, do we know what we're up against?" Chris asked, watching as Mu's Skygrasper—equipped with the Launcher Striker this time—and Liz's Guardian were loaded onto the catapults.

"_A squadron of four DINNs,_" Mir said. Anticipating a question from one of the pilots, she continued. _"The AMF-101 DINN is a light, high-speed atmospheric combat mobile suit, oriented towards long-range combat to allow it to take on bases, ships, and fighters."_

"Heh… it will take a lot more than that to take on us," Chris said. "Still… it doesn't mean we shouldn't be careful, though. One good hit could send any of us into the ocean."

"_Guardian, Skygrasper, you are cleared for launch,"_ Mir announced as Kira entered the Strike and began going through its start-up sequence. _"Raven and Strike, stand-by for launch."_

Mu shut his visor. _"Roger. Mu La Flaga, Skygrasper, launching!"_ The fighter sped along the catapult, taking to the air.

"_Liz Dante, Guardian, ready to go!"_ The Guardian launched, transforming into its mobile armor form as soon as it cleared the catapult.

With the two catapults freed, the Raven and the Strike were moved onto the catapults. _"Kira, what option pack do you want mounted up?"_ Mir asked.

Kira took a few seconds to think, and nodded to himself as he came up with a decision. _"We can try out that underwater-spec equipment pack we got from the 8th Fleet,"_ he said. _"ZAFT will be attacking us from the water as well and we've got more than enough firepower in the air. I'll head down below and take out any underwater forces they might have."_

"All right then, we'll leave the wet work to you," Chris said as the catapult display changed from red to green. "Chris Dante, Raven, heading out!" The midnight blue mobile suit shot out of the catapult, transforming into its mobile armor form like the Guardian.

Outside, the DINNs were already upon the _Archangel_, their assault rifles blazing. The _Archangel_'s Igelstellungs and missiles returned fire, but the DINNs nimbly dodged the incoming fire.

"_Alright, Chris, what do you say Liz and I take those two on the right while you take the other two on the left?_" Mu said as he angled his fighter in to attack.

"Sounds good," Chris said. "Happy hunting, you two." With that, Chris pulled the Raven to the left, and set his sights on the lead DINN.

He fired, bullets from the Raven's machine guns lancing out at the mobile suit. The DINN dodged, retaliating with its own machine gun.

"You're not getting at the _Archangel_!" Chris said, pulling to the side and swerving around for another pass.

"So, this is the Raven, hmm? Let's see just how good these mobile suits really are…" Morassim murmured as he opened fire on the Raven, his wingman adding his own fire to the barrage. The midnight blue mobile armor nimbly danced around the fire of the two DINNs, and retaliated with its own machine guns, swatting their missiles from the sky. It then went into a series of skillful maneuvers, and flashing past Morassim's wingman. That DINN suddenly fell to pieces, the victim of the Raven's Ahura Mazda.

"Damn! These machines are as tough as they say! I can see why they were able to consistently evade the Le Creuset and Alaric Teams… and even defeat the Waltfeld Team on his own territory…" Morassim said before keying his comm. unit. "GOOhN team, are you in position?"

"_We're coming up to Point A, sir,_" came the voice of Hans, the lead pilot of the GOOhN team.

"Snap it up, Hans," Morassim said. "They don't seem to have any aquatic units! Get close and sink that ship!"

* * *

"_Kira, we've detected two anomalies on sonar,"_ Mir said. _"Looks like you were right about ZAFT coming at us from underwater. Are you ready?"_

Kira nodded. "Ready when you are," he said. "Kira Yamato, Strike, launching!" The catapult launched the Strike out into the air, before it plunged right into the ocean, and into the waiting hands of the enemy units.

Kira was quick to locate his enemies, having found them before they'd gotten into position. Seeing as they'd lost the element of surprise, the GOOhNs turned their attention away from the _Archangel_ and rushed at the Strike, intent on tackling him. However, while the GOOhNs were fast in the water, they were also bulky, and not particularly agile. And, while the Strike was a mobile suit built for space battles, the 8th Fleet had also managed to deliver to them an experimental underwater combat pack, making Kira's machine more agile than the GOOhNs. He pulled down beneath the first GOOhN and grabbed hold of the mobile suit as it swam past him. He pushed the Strike's shotgun against the GOOhN's chest, his lips setting in a grim line. The anti-air shotgun was intended for attacking aerial targets from the water's surface, and was virtually useless while the Strike was underwater. At point-blank range, however, the water resistance wasn't a factor, and the full force of the shotgun would be all too effective against the amphibious mobile suit Kira had in his grasp.

He pulled the trigger twice in rapid succession before pushing the GOOhN away. He fired at the GOOhN one last time before the aquatic mobile suit's inertia pulled it out of the shotgun's limited range. As the crippled mobile suit exploded, Kira had already set his sights on the other GOOhN. He quickly pulled out his heat swords and dodged away from the remaining GOOhN's torpedoes before retaliating with his own.

* * *

In the skies above, the ZAFT DINNs were struggling against the power of the Raven, Guardian, Skygrasper, and _Archangel_. One DINN flew recklessly close to the warship and fired on it with its machine gun. The damage inflicted by the rounds was negligible to the _Archangel_'s powerful laminated armor, and the ship returned fire with a barrage of missiles. The DINN dodged most of the missiles, but a single missile swerved into it, taking out its rifle. The pilot was so distracted by evading the ship's anti-mobile suit missiles, however, that he failed to consider why the _Archangel_ hadn't employed its Igelstellungs.

The answer was simple: Natarle had specifically ordered that the Igelstellungs not be turned on the DINN, because of something she'd seen out there.

As the DINN tried to turn around and flee from the warship, the pilot screamed in terror at the sight of the Raven's Ahura Mazda's once again flashing to life. The blades of burning plasma tore into the DINN's armor, slicing the ZAFT mobile suit in three.

"Damn it!" Morassim swore as he dodged incoming fire from Mu's Skygrasper. "What's taking the GOOhN team so long?"

Even as Morassim cursed, though, the balance of power tipped against his team even further. One DINN pursued the Guardian, only to be caught off-guard as Liz shifted to mobile suit mode, spinning around in the process. A shot from the Guardian's hyper impulse rifle lanced through the air, taking the DINN's head off. Liz quickly drew a beam saber, the blade flashing to life, and finished off the ZAFT mobile suit. Without a moment to spare, she quickly rolled the Guardian, presenting its back to the sky, and transformed back to mobile armor form. While Mu kept Morassim busy with the Launcher Striker's greater firepower, Chris and Liz double-teamed the final DINN in a fine display of effortless teamwork.

The two blazed in from different vectors in mobile armor mode, with Liz letting loose with the Guardian's entire arsenal: hyper impulse rifle, dual beam guns, and quadruple grenade launchers. The DINN evaded this, but, just like in previous battles, the first attack of their maneuver was only a diversion.

"You're mine!" Chris said as the Raven shifted to mobile suit form. In a single move, Chris drew both of the Raven's beam sabers and struck true, cutting the DINN apart.

* * *

Underwater, Kira fired another pair of torpedoes from his pack at the remaining GOOhN, which the amphibious mobile suit evaded. This second pilot was certainly much more cautious than his partner, and probably a whole lot more experienced to boot. An idea suddenly struck Kira as his torpedoes exploded.

He fired torpedoes to the left and right of the GOOhN, and was rewarded when the ZAFT mobile suit froze in place. The torpedoes exploded, giving him a split-second to take the advantage. The Strike surged through the waters and burst through the explosion clouds. The Strike's underwater-spec heat swords lashed out, and tore through the GOOhN's armor, leaving the compromised mobile suit to be crushed by the water pressure.

* * *

Morassim dove low to avoid the Raven's machine gun fire. As he pulled up, an explosion from underwater caught his eye, and he could only stare as the wreckage of several GOOhNs surfaced.

"What? They've been wiped out?" Morassim said incredulously. GOOhNs, beaten in their own terrain?

Suddenly,Mu's Skygrasper streaked in from above, the Agni cannon's powerful beam tearing through the left wing of Morassim's DINN. Morassim, with an unbalanced machine, barely managed to dodge the follow-up attacks of the Raven and Guardian. The situation now was painfully obvious – he'd lost this one.

"Damn," he said, gritting his teeth in frustration. "Time to pull back."

He turned and flew away, heading back to the _Varnass_. He had been beaten this time. But next time, he'd destroy that legged ship personally.

* * *

Kira stared at the wreckage of the two mobile suits he'd just shot down, his thoughts once again on Commander Waltfeld.

'_I hate this_,_'_ he thought. _'__I hate this whole war. But if I don't do this…'_

He shook his head. "No… I'm doing this to protect my friends…" Kira looked up, a fierce determination in his eyes. "I'll fight to keep them safe… I'm fighting for them!"

With that, he turned the Strike towards the _Archangel_ and swam off, leaving the remains of the battle behind.

* * *

_Laurasia_-class frigate _Ziegler_, holding orbit over Gibraltar Base

March 6, C.E. 71

"_Gibraltar Weather Service reporting sunshine with a high of twelve degrees, humidity of forty-five percent,_" the comm. officer reported to the pilots of the three mobile suits safely secured within the drop pod. "_Wind is from the west-northwest at twenty-seven kilometers per hour. And there's a low pressure warning off the Vanalona shore._"

"Then hurry up and launch us already," Saul said, more than a little anxious.

Nicol chuckled. "I forgot," he said. "You don't like orbital drops." Unlike the others, Saul had been to Earth previously, and the experience had been less than pleasant.

"Shut up, Nicol," Saul replied. "They make me sick to my stomach." Athrun started to laugh. "Hey! You shut up too, Mr. I Can't Stay Awake For One Little Concert."

This time, Nicol started to laugh as Athrun shut up. "He's got you there Athrun," he said. "_He_ didn't fall asleep like you did."

"_Attention. Deploying atmospheric reentry capsule in T-minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one._"

The three Le Creuset Team pilots felt the slight shudder as the drop pod detached from the _Ziegler_ and began its descent to Gibraltar. Saul groaned as they started to feel the friction of atmospheric reentry. He hated going through the atmosphere.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

"There's no doubt about it," Mu said. "Those suits couldn't have come from any place other than a submarine carrier."

"A submarine carrier?" Murrue asked.

"ZAFT's _Vosgulov_-class submarine, to be exact," John clarified, a mug of coffee once again in his hand. "Carpentaria is too far for them to be able to find us, attack, _and_ return. Had they been launched from a normal sea carrier, we would have picked them up. Since we didn't, that leaves a _Vosgulov_ as the only real possibility. This is the first time the _Archangel_ has been on water, which means that the crew isn't experienced in naval operations and isn't used to using sonar. They're following us. Sooner or later, they're going to attack again."

"Any idea whose team it is?" Mu asked. "It might give us an advantage if we knew who their commander is."

"Well…" John said, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I've been out of the loop for months, so I'm not completely sure… However, if nothing's changed since six months ago… then the big players stationed in this region would be Commanders Marco Morassim and Zack Messa. But, it could just as easily be some other upstart commander who wants the fame and glory for sinking this ship. Either way, we'll have to take them out the next time to avoid any more trouble."

"Do you have any ideas?" Murrue asked.

"Give us some time," Mu replied. "We'll come up with something."

* * *

Gibraltar Base

The drop pod's hatch opened, allowing the Blitz, the Aegis, and the Surge to exit the capsule and lined up alongside the base's other mobile suits. Off in the distance, the trio spotted the Duel, Buster and Sentinel standing alongside Zane's blood-red CGUE and a silver-white GINN Assault Type – the mobile suits of the rest of the Le Creuset Team.

"Gah…" Saul gasped, taking in lungfuls of fresh air as he stumbled out of the Surge's cockpit.

He was thankful that he had made sure that he avoided eating anything before the drop. Otherwise… he shuddered at the thought of losing his breakfast with his helmet on.

"Hey, Saul, hurry up!" Nicol called out. "We're supposed to meet up with the rest of the team!"

"Yeah, I'm coming," Saul replied as he descended from the Surge's cockpit.

The three pilots made their way to the briefing room where the rest of the Le Creuset Team was waiting. "Please sir! Listen! I can get him! I know it!" they heard Yzak shout as the door hissed open, allowing them entry.

"Calm down Yzak. You're acting far too emotionally," Rau admonished.

"Yzak… That scar…" Athrun said, staring at the large scar on his teammate's face.

"Wow," Saul said, chuckling. "Well, you're a pretty boy no more, Scarface."

Dearka laughed and Nicol chuckled as well. Yzak's anger was almost missed entirely as the normally reserved Tomoyo laughed lightly at Yzak's expense.

"Shut up!" Yzak yelled, shooting death glares at the lazy hacker.

"It's a shame it only improved your looks and not your attitude as well," Saul retorted, a grin on his face.

Yzak looked murderous, and if no one stopped him, he wasn't sure he could hold himself back from tearing Saul apart right there and then. "The wound has healed," Rau said smoothly, breaking up the potential fight before it happened. "However, he's decided to keep the scar as a reminder until he's destroyed the Strike."

"Now that we're all here," Zane said, far calmer than any of the other red coats had previously seen him. "Why don't we begin the briefing, Commander?"

The other pilots exchanged a few glances. No, this definitely wasn't the Zane they were used to. He was far too calm… He was almost subdued, even. It was the kind of temperament that someone would have after being scolded by their parents, or a mentor. He was even seated next to Leon without displaying open hostility – it would already be an oddity to have him seated next to Leon, but to do so without even the slightest hint of irritation was simply miraculous.

"Yes, I suppose we should. Everyone, please, have a seat," Rau said. "The Earth Forces' legged ship must be stopped from getting to Alaska with the mobile suit data it has acquired. However, point of fact is… I'm afraid this mission has already been assigned to Carpenteria."

"But, Commander, that's our job!" Yzak said. "This is unfinished business for us!"

"I feel the same way, Commander," Dearka added. "This has gotten to be a little bit too personal to suddenly just leave it to someone else."

"I agree as well," Zane said in a cold tone. "They have humiliated us again and again. We should be the ones to destroy that ship and its mobile suits."

Rau waved his hand, acknowledging their comments. "Needless to say, I feel the same way," he said.

"If I may, Commander…" Tomoyo suddenly said, pulling attention to the previously silent girl. She waited for Rau to nod before she continued. "We can't just rush in there and pick a fight. The terrain is still disadvantageous to us, so we'll have no choice but to use Guuls. The Buster, the Duel, Zane's CGUE, and my GINN won't face much of a problem in maneuverability thanks to their artillery roles… but the Sentinel, the Aegis, the Surge, and the Blitz are all going to be severely hindered in one way or another."

Leon nodded. "I have to agree with Tomoyo's assessment. We really have to put aside any personal vendettas," he said, giving a significant look to Yzak, Dearka, and Zane, his shining blue eyes possessing a cold, hard edge that held within it the power of a raging blizzard. The three pilots shifted uneasily, finding that Leon's cold, icy blue eyes were the kind that you did not want to have glaring at you in such a direct manner. "Fighting with your emotions is the easiest way to commit stupid mistakes and get someone killed. Aside from that, I have to disagree with everyone's earlier assessments about the mobile suit data being the most important issue here. I wouldn't be surprised if the Earth Forces are already beginning to gear up their production lines for the first wave of mass-produced mobile suits."

Nicol raised a hand. "To be honest, leaving it in Carpentaria's hands would normally be the best move," he said. "However, the legged ship's mobile suit pilots are all Coordinators, and very skilled ones at that. Their mobile suits, as well, are hardly easy pickings, meaning that we have to send only our best at them. Only the Alaric Team – with their superior skill and experience – or the stolen prototypes could possibly match them as they are. With the Alaric Team in space and unavailable, that means we're the only ones around who can stand up to them."

Yzak blinked. "What are you talking about?" he demanded. "You think those traitors are really that good? And why would you even care, if you think they've already gotten the data?"

"Because that hardware is still useless," Leon replied. "They can develop all the powerful mobile suits they want, but they can't do anything with them unless they can create a Natural-friendly OS, which they aren't anywhere close to doing if the original systems on _our_ units were any indication. The legged ship, as it so happens, is carrying the Earth Force's best hope to creating one."

"Skilled Coordinators with a talent for programming," Saul said, nodding in agreement. "I see what you mean."

Rau nodded as well, but raised a hand to forestall any other comments from his pilots. "Your points are all appreciated, everyone," he said. "The point of the matter is this: we can't simply leave this to Carpentaria. I have to remain here to help in the preparations for Operation Spitbreak, but there's no reason to keep you here when you could do us so much good out there. So, would you like to try and take out the legged ship yourselves?"

"Yes sir!" Yzak said, grinning.

"Then we'll form a team consisting of Yzak, Dearka, Nicol, Saul, Athrun, Zane, Leon, and Tomoyo," Rau said. "Your commander will be… let me see… Athrun, I'm putting you in charge. Leon, you'll be second-in-command and in charge of any ground operations should you need to perform any, and… Tomoyo, you'll be in charge of intelligence and tactical planning and analysis."

The announcement of the team's commander was a shock to most of the group, but it was clear it did not please Yzak, who scowled at Athrun, or Zane, who shrugged in annoyance, though with him, it was difficult to say who he'd have preferred to be in command.

"I'll have you assigned to a _Vosgulov_ in Carpentaria," Rau continued. "You should prepare to leave immediately."

"Yes, sir!" the pilots chorused.

Rau nodded. "If there's nothing left, then I will leave you to your own devices. Your plans are now your own."

Athrun walked up to Rau. "Commander, wait…" he said.

"Yes, Athrun?" the masked commander replied.

"Why me, Commander?" Athrun asked, still unable to get over his shock. "Why are you putting me in charge?"

"That ship has been a real thorn in our side," said Rau, putting a hand on Athrun's shoulder. "It will not be easy, Athrun, but I'm counting on you. Good luck." With that, the masked commander left the briefing room.

"So, now we're the Zala Team?" Dearka asked, his expression somewhere between mild amusement and annoyance.

"I don't know," Nicol quipped. "I like the name. It has a nice ring to it."

"Hmph, this should be good," Yzak said, his voice dripping with annoyance and sarcasm.

"Yeah, it will be good," Saul said. "It's certainly a lot better than being the Joule Team."

"I agree. We might as well go and commit suicide if you were in charge, Yzak," Leon said, hints of an amused smile on his face. "With your temperament and general disregard for planning, I feel bad for any subordinates you'll be getting in the future."

"Hey!" Yzak replied.

Athrun wasn't listening to the bickering and banter going on between his teammates. His thoughts were on the Strike and Kira. The next time they met, he'd have no choice but to destroy him…

* * *

Rau sighed as he left the room, no doubt in his mind that Yzak was not happy about being placed under Athrun's command. He could only hope that it did not become a catalyst for what could eventually ruin his plans. As he turned a corner, he quickly spotted Falkner leaning against a wall, now clad in a black ZAFT uniform.

"It appears the council has seen fit to bestow your rank back upon you, Falkner," Rau said. "That would mean you're back on assignment as an autonomous unit from me."

Falkner nodded. "In a sense, yes, I'm back to normal duty now that the Le Creuset Team's numbers have been bolstered," he said. "As of now, I'm officially an autonomous unit… but Defense Chairman Zala has requested that I work with you in organizing Spitbreak."

Rau let a cold smile cross his lips. "Zala… he truly is shallow if he thinks that we're simply following his orders," he said. "He hasn't even realized that he's actually dancing to our tune… how pathetic. Once we ensnare Azrael, the only thing we need is the catalyst that will unlock the final door."

Falkner smirked. "Shall I get to work with Azrael?" Rau nodded.

"Yes, I'll leave Azrael in your hands. I'll handle Zala," he said. Before Falkner could turn and leave, Rau spoke again. "One more thing, Falkner…"

"Yes, Commander?" Falkner asked, raising an eyebrow indulgently.

Rau frowned. "I want you to keep a close eye on Leon Vanyel and Tomoyo Asahara," he said. "They're very dangerous wild cards; Vanyel most especially. He could threaten to undo us if he continues as he is. He's shown signs that he's begun to see past the surface of this war, and he might uncover the truth if he persists."

Falkner clenched a fist. "They should have perished during reentry," he said, a bit of frustration seeping into his normally calm tone. "If that boy hadn't mentioned those ballutes…"

Rau shook his head. "It's inconsequential for now. As long as they remain in our grasp, then another opportunity will present itself," he said. "And Leon _did_ unwittingly help us keep a valuable piece in play."

"Scirocco? Don't make me laugh," Falkner said. "That boy was willing to go to any lengths to destroy the Raven, even if he ended up destroying himself in the process. The fact that he escaped from the Aegis just to pursue the legged ship is testament to his tenacity, if not his utter lunacy."

"Don't worry," Rau said. "When the time comes, we can eliminate him as well… along with the rest of them."

* * *

The _Archangel_

March 7, C.E. 71

"We have several contacts on the sonar at seven o' clock," Chandra said from his station. "They're mobile suit signatures."

"Are you sure?" Natarle asked.

"How many of them are there?" Murrue added.

"Matching sound signals…" Chandra said as he searched through the ship's databanks. "We've got three GOOhNs, and one unidentified model."

"All hands, Level One Battlestations," Murrue ordered. Sai, in his station down in the CIC, quickly issued the alarm.

* * *

Indian Ocean

Three submarine mobile suits sped through the water towards the wake of the massive warship, their pilots quite confident that they'd win no matter what the pathetic Naturals tried to throw at them.

"Hmph, they're traveling through shallow waters," Morassim said, his expression smug. "That's perfect for this ZnO. And since Le Creuset has already landed… we'd better sink that ship now!" With that, he began firing the ZnO's torpedoes, his three companions likewise taking aim and firing.

The ZnO's firepower was actually inferior to the GOOhN's, but it made up for it by having better underwater mobility, better stability on land, and superior close-combat ability. Even if the Strike had been lucky enough to beat all the GOOhNs in the last engagement, all the luck in the world wouldn't save them against the combination of Morassim's skill and experience and the superior performance of his ZnO.

Ahead of the ZAFT forces, the legged ship rose into the air, evading the torpedoes. The GOOhNs surface and opened fire with their back-mounted dart rifles, before diving under as the Earth Forces assault ship began to return fire.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Hangar

Chris watched as the Strike was loaded into the starboard catapult, the shutter doors already closing behind his friend's mobile suit.

The plan, as decided by Mu and John after some careful consideration, was simple enough. When the attack came – now – Mu and Liz would launch in the Skygrasper and Guardian and retrace the path of the ZAFT machines back to their carrier, where they would blow it to pieces. The Raven and GINN would be held back to defend the _Archangel_, since neither mobile suit normally equipped weapons with the sort of punch the Guardian and Lightning Skygrasper had. Kira and the Strike would head out with the Aqua Striker once more and deal with the marine threats.

Unfortunately, something else had come up; something which everyone _knew_ was going to be a major headache for them. Chris turned his gaze to where Cagalli was arguing with Chief Murdoch, who was refusing to let her pilot the second Skygrasper again. He was obviously still peeved over her stunt back at the Talbadiya battle.

"Just let her pilot the thing already!" John yelled as he climbed into his GINN, now fully repaired, modified, and combat ready. "What a stubborn, emotional girl she is…"

Murdoch finally conceded, and a mechanic retrieved a pilot helmet for Cagalli, which she put on before scrambling into the fighter.

"_Alright, listen up girls,_" Mu said as the Lightning Skygrasper moved onto the catapult. "_The three of us are gonna head out and hunt down their carrier while the rest of the team stays back to defend the _Archangel_._"

"_The name's Cagalli,_" the blonde said, sounding rather irritable.

"_Jeez, are you always so high-strung?_" Liz asked.

"_I'm not high-strung!_" Cagalli shouted back.

"_Yes, you are,_" Liz replied calmly. "_It's a very repelling feature of yours. I doubt there are many people that find you attractive because of that attitude._"

"_Shut up!_" Cagalli shouted as the first Skygrasper took off, Mu shaking his head the whole way. "_I bet you're gonna try to hook me up with some guy you know!_"

"_Nah, I don't know any good guys that would date you,_" Liz said cheerfully. She got clearance for launch as Kira finally launched, his deployment delayed thanks to a mild malfunction in the loading mechanism of the Aqua Striker. "_Truth be told, I've never been attracted to guys anyway. Liz Dante, Guardian, ready to go!_"

"_Wait… what? Was she trying to hit on me?_" Cagalli asked incredulously as the Guardian cleared the catapult, allowing the Skygrasper to follow.

Chris started laughing. "No," he said. "While she does swing that way, she doesn't find you attractive in the slightest. I think she said that you're too much like a guy for her taste."

"_For the last time, I'm a girl!_"

"Personally, I think the jury's still out on that," Chris replied.

"_You should have seen her in that dress she wore back at Waltfeld's place,_" John suddenly said, joining in the conversation. "_The Tiger was right. The perfect little lady until she opens her mouth._"

"_Whatever!_" Cagalli said, growling loudly. They could practically hear her grinding her teeth. "_Cagalli! Skygrasper Two, launching!_"

While Cagalli was throwing a fit, Chris was smirking rather smugly as the Raven and John's GINN were moved onto the catapults.

"_I hope you don't mind us__ working as a team again,"_ John commented. _"__I hope we can be as effective as we were at Talbadiya."_

"You and me both," Chris agreed. "Chris Dante, Raven, launching!"

"_John Alaric__, GINN, launching!"_

* * *

Underwater

Kira, aided by his experience from the previous battle, had little difficulty evading the GOOhNs attacks, despite being heavily outnumbered. Fighting back was proving a little tougher, though. The GOOhNs were keeping their distance, and were far better oriented towards that sort of fighting than the Strike was. Too, the multi-mode mobile suit's experimental underwater pack, while built for marine warfare, still suffered from a critical lack of firepower, leaving close combat as Kira's only option – easier said than done with the GOOhNs more at home in the water than the Strike would ever be.

Nevertheless, he still refused to lose, and was determined to win. As a GOOhN fired a barrage of torpedoes at the Strike, Kira deftly evaded, and returned fire with his Igelstellungs and torpedoes. The GOOhN's speed saved it, though, and the few Igelstellung rounds that found their mark did no significant damage. The second GOOhN fired its phonon masers at the Strike with impressive accuracy, and Kira internally cursed himself for not thinking to grab a shield, which this equipment set did not include as standard fare. He evaded, barely, the sound wave beam passing between the Strike's torso and arm, and moved behind a large outcropping of rocks for cover. The rocks were destroyed, but they fulfilled their purpose, protecting Kira from the attack.

An alarm sounded, and Kira dodged aside once more as torpedoes flew through the space where the Strike had been standing.

"That's it! I got him!" Morassim shouted as he shifted the ZnO from submarine to mobile suit mode. "The rest of you, sink that ship!"

The ZnO fired its hand-mounted phonon masers, but they lacked the accuracy the GOOhN pilot had, allowing Kira to dodge with greater ease. Kira's eyes narrowed as he took in this new enemy. The machine was a little faster than a GOOhN, which would make things more difficult for him. As if that weren't enough, it seemed likely that its pilot was the ZAFT commander himself.

"I'm gonna tear that machine to pieces with this ZnO!" Morassim shouted, swinging one of the ZnO's clawed hands at the Strike. "Get ready, punk!"

Kira took advantage of his enemy's approach to attack with a heat sword, but the ZAFT machine shifted to the side and lashed out again. Kira quickly pulled back, but the larger machine suddenly fired its chest-mounted torpedoes at nearly point-blank range, leaving Kira no room to dodge.

"Damn it!" Kira shouted as the Strike shook from the impact.

* * *

Gibraltar Base

Athrun waited in the passenger compartment of his transport plane as the pilots went through their final check. The rest of the team had already left hours ago, but his plane had been grounded because of mechanical problems that the ground crew had only managed to fix a few moments ago.

"Sorry for the delay," the plane's pilot said, looking back through the cockpit hatch at Athrun. "We'll be leaving shortly."

"It's no problem," Athrun replied as he fastened his seatbelt. It was a little humiliating that the first day of his first command had been plagued with a mechanical delay, but at least he didn't have Yzak's idiotic pride driving him. If he was superstitious, though, he might have taken it as an omen of dark things to come…

* * *

Elsewhere

The Guardian and Skygraspers flew over the water, searching for the submarine carrier that the mobile suits were coming from. Fortunately for them, the _Varnass_ was already preparing to surface so it could launch its DINNs at the _Archangel_, making it an obvious target for the trio of fighters.

"There it is," Mu said. "Let's go, girls!"

"_That's Cagalli!_" the blonde replied angrily. The two Earth Forces officers both shook their heads in exasperation. The girl _really_ had some problems.

The two Skygraspers took aim and launched anti-sub missiles at the submarine. An explosion told them that at least one had hit, and the submarine began to surface.

"Okay," Mu said as the shadow of the submarine grew. "Here they come. You ready?"

"_You bet,_" Cagalli replied before suddenly turning her Skygrasper towards the surfacing submarine.

"Make sure you don't go too low, or you'll be swimming," Mu warned as Cagalli's fighter dipped too low.

"_Shoot!_" Cagalli said, biting back a curse as she pulled up, barely managing not to slam into the ZAFT submarine as it broke the surface.

"You fool, I warned you!" Mu said. "Don't be too eager, or you're going to smash your fighter into something!"

"_Hey, don't you call me a fool!_" Cagalli retorted.

"_Then don't act like one!_" Liz said calmly, taking aim at the center of the submarine with her entire array of weapons as the vertical catapults began opening, preparing to launch DINNs at them.

"Oh, no, you don't," Mu said, bringing his fighter around to take aim with the electromagnetic cannon.

Mu and Liz fired at the same time, both aiming at the same spot, creating a massive explosion as the sub literally split in two from their common target point, explosions blossoming out from the fissure towards the bow and aft of the vessel.

"_Did we get it?_" Cagalli asked, staring at the pillar of smoke and fire on the water.

Suddenly, a pair of DINNs emerged from the smoke, firing on Cagalli's Skygrasper. The blonde pulled her fighter to the side in a hard turn, barely avoided receiving a fatal blow but still taking a few hits from one of the DINNs. Mu and Liz fired at the aerial mobile suits, driving them away from the damaged fighter.

"Are you okay? Mu asked in concern as he traded shots with one of the DINNs before racing past it.

"_Yeah,_" Cagalli replied, checking over her readouts. "_It's only my navigation system._"

"Head back to the _Archangel_," Mu ordered. "We'll handle the DINNs."

"_No! I can still fight!_" Cagalli retorted. No way was she going to just turn tail and retreat!

"Head back! You're only getting in the way now!" Mu shouted, more than a little frustrated with the stubborn girl.

"_Fine,_" Cagalli growled. Taking one last look at the dogfight, she turned her fighter around and made for the _Archangel_.

Mu and Liz, no longer burdened by the less experienced Cagalli, now broke apart, each heading after their own DINN.

The Guardian spun, twisted, and turned at angles that would be utterly impossible in any ordinary fighter, frustrating the DINN pilot. However, the veteran suddenly grinned as he finally got on the Guardian's tail and took aim with everything he had.

Noticing the DINN behind her, Liz smirked and hit the control for the Guardian's transformation mechanism.

The Guardian suddenly shifted to mobile suit mode, maneuvering itself so that it had now swapped front and back, and shifted back to mobile armor mode, using its tremendous speed to close with the DINN before the pilot could react. The Guardian's wing-mounted beam blades cut through the DINN's thin armor like tissue paper.

Mu, meanwhile, was enjoying himself with the other DINN pilot, who simply couldn't match the speed and skill the Hawk of Endymion brought to his fighter. As the DINN's chest-mounted launchers fired a collection of small missiles at him, he wove through them, helping to clear a path with his machine guns, and after a bit of tail-chasing, settled into position behind the DINN. The pilot couldn't simply spin around the way Liz enjoyed doing before shifting back to mobile armor form without risking being shot down.

Mu then grinned as a new idea occurred to him. He aimed a missile slightly to the right of the DINN and fired before shifting his angle and firing a second missile at the DINN's left arm.

The pilot, demonstrating the good judgment that had no doubt seen him through many previous battles, evaded to the left, away from the missile rather than into its path, but ended up falling for Mu's trap by instead flying into the second missile.

The explosive took off the DINN's right arm, but, far more importantly, it jarred the mobile suit. Mu quickly capitalized on the success of his plan, firing the Lightning Striker's electromagnetic cannon.

The DINN never stood a chance, the powerful cannon tearing through the mobile suit's armor like it wasn't even there.

"Got him!" Mu said triumphantly. "Come on, Liz. Let's head back to the ship."

* * *

Around the _Archangel_

A GOOhN surfaced and fired on the _Archangel_. Before it could retreat back into the water, a trio of sniper rounds struck it in rapid succession. John smirked as the Raven flew over the water, his customized black GINN standing on top of it.

"_That's one,"_ he said. _"Now… where's the other…?"_

Suddenly, the remaining GOOhN surfaced directly below the two airborne mobile suits, firing its phonon masers. Chris managed to evade them, giving John a wide open shot.

But, just as he was about to pull the trigger, a barrage of torpedoes flew his way. He couldn't react in time. Fortunately, Chris could, rolling them over to use the Raven's own body as a shield to protect the vulnerable GINN. Unfortunately, this upset John's aim, and his shot flew wide, missing the GOOhN by a good ten meters. Worse, the attack knocked the Raven—and by extension, the John's GINN —out of the sky and into the GOOhN's playground.

Chris swore as the Raven sank under the water. The GOOhN suddenly slammed into him, the pilot figuring that he was safe, knowing that the Raven didn't have any solid close-combat weapons. Unfortunately, he made a fatal mistake, as the Raven grabbed hold of the front of the GOOhN.

"This isn't the Strike!" Chris shouted. "The Raven's guns aren't beam weapons!"

He jammed the barrels of his twin rail cannons into the GOOhN's underbelly and fired. The rounds tore clean through the GOOhN's body. A second later, it exploded, pushing the Raven back.

"Damn, I hate fighting underwater," said Chris, heading for the surface.

Not far away, the battle between the Strike and ZnO was still raging. A wave of torpedoes struck the Strike, knocking it back. Kira tried to get the Strike moving again, but the ZnO shifted to its faster submarine mode and slammed into the Strike, dragging Kira along. Kira took advantage of this, though, to fire torpedoes at near point-blank. The ZnO backed off, escaping the blast, shifting back to mobile suit mode.

Kira took advantage of the brief opening and stabbed his heat sword into the ZnO's shoulder blade, but after a brief tussle, the ZAFT machine wrapped its claw around the Strike's head, pushing the smaller machine onto the sea floor with its weight. Kira saw the glow of the hand-mounted phonon maser charging.

"Oh no you don't!" Kira said, springing his assault knives. He grabbed hold of them and drove then into the neck area between the mobile suit's head and torpedo tubes. He then grabbed hold of the machine and kicked it, flipping it off of him. The ZnO exploded.

"_Nice work, Kira,_" John said, and Kira looked up to see the black GINN approaching. "_It seems like that was the last of them. Let's head back to the ship._"

"Sounds good," Kira replied.

* * *

Elsewhere

"Is this the way back to the _Archangel_?" Cagalli muttered as she tried to get her bearings.

That's when she spotted it: a ZAFT transport place flying east.

"What's that doing out here?" she questioned herself, then shook her head. "If they're reinforcements, then I have no choice but to shoot it down."

One of the ZAFT plane's turrets fired on her. Cagalli turned away, preparing for a strafing run.

"Damn!" the transport's pilot said. "Hurry up and get into your mobile suit. If it comes to it, we'll eject you and your mobile suit.

"But—"

"Go!" the pilot yelled, cutting off Athrun's objection. "We'll be a disgrace to ZAFT if we take our cargo down with us."

"Alright," Athrun replied reluctantly, and made for the cargo hold.

Cagalli, meanwhile, scored a direct hit on the plane's right wing, with one of the transport's turrets hitting her Skygrasper in retaliation. Both aircraft, now trailing smoke, started going down.

"Damn," the pilot swore. "We were fools to think we had air superiority. I can't hold it much longer. We have to eject you."

"_What about you?_" Athrun asked as he powered up the Aegis.

"Don't worry about us," the copilot assured. "We'll bail out once we lighten our load."

The cargo hatch opened and the Aegis was ejected from the plane. Elsewhere, Cagalli frantically struggled to keep her fighter in the air for as long as possible when she spotted an island. She knew her only chance was to land in the waters near it. That is, if she survived the crash.

Cagalli screamed as the Skygrasper hit the water, skimming across the waves. The fighter came to a stop in the shallow waters of the island, and Cagalli breathed a sigh of relief.

"I made it," she said.

She then tried to get in touch with the _Archangel_. But the fighter's radio was dead, and she wasn't certain it could cut through the N-jammer interference anyways. Seeing no other choice, she swam the short distance to the island. Nothing left to do but wait for rescue…

* * *

Aboard the _Archangel_

An Hour Later

"Where did we lose Cagalli?" Murrue asked. "Is there anything on the radio?"

"No ma'am," Mir replied. "Nothing."

"There's too much radar interference," Chandra said. "So far, I can only confirm that she left the combat zone."

"Should we list her as MIA?" Natarle asked, though she sounded somewhat reluctant about voicing that thought.

"I think you're jumping to conclusions, Lieutenant Badgiruel," Murrue replied. "How much longer until sunset?"

"An hour, ma'am," Natarle replied.

"Very well," Murrue said. "Talk with Lieutenant La Flaga and Mr. Alaric. Between you three, you should be able to concoct a solid plan for us to search for that Skygrasper."

"Yes, ma'am," Natarle said, hesitation completely absent. "But… what if we don't find her before we leave the area?"

"Then we'll have no choice but to list Cagalli as MIA," Murrue said reluctantly. "Though I don't like that thought at all."

"Don't worry," Natarle replied, a bit of an uncertainty to her voice, but she was still trying her best to offer support. "I'm sure those boys will find her."

Murrue smiled. "You're right. Thanks Natarle," she said.

* * *

Several Hours Later

Chris yawned as he walked back to quarters. Their search for Cagalli had been fruitless. The ocean was a huge place, after all. She could be anywhere. But Kira was insistent that they keep on searching for her. And truth be told, if he wasn't so tired, he would have backed Kira up without hesitation, nevermind the fact that he found Cagalli highly annoying. But it was getting late and he was drained from the battle earlier today. Searching for hours didn't help his situation, either.

That was when Flay appeared, a somewhat nervous smile on her face as she approached him.

"Hi Chris," she said, sounding as nervous as her smile indicated.

"Hey. What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Well…" she said hesitantly. "There's something I want to tell you… but I'm… I'm just not sure how to say it."

"Then say it."

"Well… I've been thinking about things since we left the desert and… I… I…"

'_What's she so nervous about?'_ he thought as Flay tried to find the right words.

Suddenly, Flay's lips met his own, paralyzing him with surprise. He knew it was wrong. That they shouldn't be kissing. But all thoughts almost instantly melted away. He stood there, stunned for a few seconds before he responded, his arms wrapping around her and returning the kiss.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Sai had walked into the hallway at that very moment…

* * *

After hours of being on duty with no break, Sai, Tolle, Mir, and Flay were finally having their dinner. With the search for Cagalli now on hold until morning, the Captain had ended their shifts for the night. While everyone else was devouring their meals, Flay was hardly touching her food. "What's wrong, Flay?" asked Sai.

"Nothing… It's nothing," she replied.

Sai knew something was bothering her, but didn't press it. Ever since they left the desert, she had been distant from just about everyone… everyone except for Chris. Sai might have been a bit concerned about what was going on between the two of them, if it hadn't been for Chris's words to him after they first landed on Earth, when he was first concerned about the two of them being alone together.

"_I have no intention of stealing Flay from you, Sai," said Chris. "I'm just trying to help her out with her grief over her father's death. You two are arranged to be married. I'm not gonna come between you. You have my word."_

And he managed to brighten up Flay's mood after her father's death. So he was thankful to Chris for his help. And yeah, maybe a little jealous at the amount of time Flay had lately been spending with Chris.

"Excuse me. I'll be right back," Flay said, standing up.

"Flay? Where you going?"

"Uh… I just need to do something," she said, heading for the doorway.

"What?"

"… Nothing Sai," Flay said as she left.

Now Sai was growing worried. Why was Flay acting so strange lately? Sai couldn't sit back anymore. He was going to find out what was bothering her. He sat up. "Excuse me. I'm going to see what's bothering her," he told the others.

He left the mess hall. He wasn't sure where she went. He figured he'd start at the crew quarters first. A couple minutes later, he rounded a corner and froze. Flay and Chris were standing there, embracing and kissing.

Sai was shocked. His Flay was kissing one of friends… a friend that had sworn that he wouldn't try anything like this.

They finally broke free of their kiss, but they were still in a loose hug. Flay's back was to him. "Flay… I… I…" Chris mumbled, trying to find the words he needed to say. Then he looked up and saw him. "Sai…" he said in horror and guilt.

Flay broke the hug and turned around. Her expression was the same as his. But Sai was too hurt and betrayed to notice. Sai found himself at a loss for words.

"Flay… Chris… Why… WHY?" he shouted. "Were you lying to me this whole time, Chris? How long have you been doing this behind my back?"

Chris knew he shouldn't have let Flay kiss him. He should have pushed her away. But he hadn't. Instead, he kissed her back. As much as he wanted to deny it. To ignore it. To reject it. He had fallen for her. He didn't know how or why he had fallen in love with her, but he realized he didn't care how or why.

God… It was like some bad soap opera.

"Sai… I'm sorry," Chris said, trying to reason with him. "I never wanted to come between you two… But… I… I never meant to fall in love with her… It just happened—"

"SHUT UP!" Sai screamed, tackling Chris.

The two fell to the ground, Sai landing on top of him. Chris raised his head, only for Sai's fist to hit him. More punches hit his face. Sai knew nothing about fighting; in fact, he was pretty much your average nerd: smart, and not all that physically strong. But he was furious, and that fury was fueling his strength. After receiving a few more blows to the head, Chris grabbed one of Sai's incoming fists and punched Sai in face, knocking Sai off of him. Chris stood up, wiping the blood from his nose. "Listen to me, Sai. I never meant for this to happen. I never wanted to come between the two of you. It just happen-GAH!"

Sai's leg shot up, hitting him in the place that hurts regardless of whether one was Coordinator or Natural. Now he was beginning to get mad. Sai just wasn't listening to anything he said. Sai got up and punched him again. Chris grabbed his fist and punched Sai in the stomach. Sai stumbled back and Chris followed up with more punches. One last blow to Sai's face sent him to the ground. "I think you've had enough," Chris said, leaning up against a wall, breathing heavily.

Sai was lying on the ground, breathing just as heavily. Flay just stood there with an expression of horror and guilt on her face. "Well… Are you two done slapping each around? Or are you going to go at it a bit more?" John asked, standing some feet behind him. He did _not_ look happy.

"I'm done," Chris said.

Sai didn't say anything.

"You teens and your hormones," John said, moving towards the two. "You're almost as bad as Cagalli. Almost."

He helped Sai up to his feet. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up. Girl… Flay, right?"

"Ah… Yeah…" Flay said meekly.

"Why don't you take Chris and help get him cleaned up," John suggested, though it sounded more like an order. He quickly sighed. "I'll talk to Captain Ramius about this. There's certainly no point in hiding it."

A few minutes later, they were in the men's washroom. Chris was leaning over a sink while Flay was wiping the blood from his face with a damp cloth. His lip and nose were bleeding. There were a few bruises forming on his face as well.

Chris sighed. "We shouldn't have done that. You're arranged to marry Sai. And I'm Sai's friend. I swore this wouldn't happen," he said. "Yet it did. I didn't want it to happen. I didn't want to admit it when it did happen. But the truth is, I began to feel something for you."

"I've realized, for a while now, that my feelings for Sai were never truly love," Flay said. "I thought those feelings were love, but when I started to spend more and more time with you, I found myself feeling true feelings of love and it wasn't for Sai. It was for you. But I didn't want to hurt Sai like that. I wanted to break it up with him gently."

"Looks like it's a little too late for that," Chris said, sighing. This was _definitely_ not a good day.

* * *

Deserted Island

The Next Morning

Athrun stared at the dead fire while the girl sat at the opposite side of the cave. It had been an interesting night with the girl that had forced his plane down, to say the least. After several attempts to kill each other and several heated arguments, the two had come to a quiet little ceasefire. The funny thing was that despite the fact they spent the night together in cave, he had no idea what her name was.

Suddenly, the comm. device on his wrist started beeping, indicating that someone was trying to reach him. Athrun got up and headed for the Aeigs's cockpit, opening up the comm. line as soon as he clambered in. A familiar voice came on the line.

"_Athrun! Can you hear me? Please respond,_" the voice called out.

"Nicol, is that you?" Athrun asked, seeking confirmation. If it was indeed Nicol, then he was in luck – that meant help was near.

"_Yeah!_" Nicol said. "_Don't worry, Athrun. We can get a fix on your position from this transmission._"

"What is it?" the girl called from outside.

"The radio's working!" he replied.

Suddenly, there was a different beeping.

"What the-?" Athrun murmured, glancing at the screen.

Someone else had picked up on the distress signal and was heading this way by sea. But the ZAFT rescue team wouldn't get here until after this unknown party already has. Athrun climbed out of the cockpit. "A ZAFT team is coming to pick me up… but another ship has picked up the signal and is heading this way. They're coming this way by sea from the direction of your fighter," he said. "I have to hide the Aegis before they get here. I don't want this place to become a battlefield."

"Right," the girl said. "I better get back to my aircraft before they get here, then."

She paused for a moment, unsure of what to say before she headed back to her Skygrasper. Not knowing what else shed could do, she settled for something simple. "Bye."

Athrun watched the girl leave for her aircraft. "Hey!" he called out. "Are you sure you're not with the Earth Forces?"

The girl turned back. "No. I'm not."

'_They're not even soldiers, and yet…'_ Athrun thought as images of Kira filled his mind.

"Hey!" the girl suddenly shouted, distracting him from his thoughts. "I'm Cagalli! What's your name?"

"Athrun!" he called back.

"Don't get killed, Athrun!" Cagalli said before she turned and began running back to her Skygrasper. Athrun climbed back into the Aegis, looking for a place where he could hide the mobile suit for a while… at least until Cagalli's rescue party left the area and Nicol and the others came for him.

* * *

The _Cousteau_

Nicol sighed in relief as he shut the comm. line down. "Great," he said, looking at the rest of the Le Creuset Team pilots. "Athrun's safe, the Aegis is intact, and we've pinpointed his location."

Hints of a smile touched Leon's lips from where he leaned against the bulkhead next to the bridge doors. "Well, that's good news," he said. "I'd hate to be the one left in charge, after all… and I don't exactly want to break the news to Lady Lacus that her fiancé went MIA."

Yzak scoffed. "Like I said before, this is a mission that will go down in ZAFT's history," he said, a sarcastic, cocky tone to his voice. "Fellow, esteemed members of the Zala Team, it appears that we'll be able to complete first mission… a mission that, instead of taking on the legged ship as our objective entails, has us rescuing our exalted commander."

Yzak chuckled, and Dearka laughed outright, but Zane simply shook his head. "Perhaps he did get into a little trouble on the way here," he said. "But I don't think you'd be laughing about it if _you_ were the one who had to be dropped off out in the middle of nowhere." With that said, Zane turned and left the bridge.

Dearka whistled. "Never heard Zane admonish anyone like that before," the blond Coordinator said. "It's… weird. I was expecting Leon to do it, but he didn't speak up."

Nicol looked back at Leon, who simply shrugged his shoulders.

"This is a _really_ great start, you guys," Tomoyo said, her voice laced with sarcasm. She was shaking her head, but there was no mistaking the amused smile on her lips.

Leon sighed. A great start, indeed... man, he was going to have a major headache by the time this was over... he could only imagine how Athrun would feel when all was said and done.

* * *

**And that's another Phase down.**

**Once again, PLEASE R & R! It's not in my nature to beseech, but PLEASE! EVERY REVIEW COUNTS!**

**If you have a heart and review… I thank you. If you don't review… sigh… I can't do anything about that, now, can I?**

**Well, that's all for now.**

**Ja ne!**


	15. Phase 15: Land of Peace

**Well, here we go… Phase 15 of **_**Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Path of Justice**_**. I'm getting close to the "point of no return", and it's gotten me quite excited. I can barely wait until we reach the point when I **_**truly**_** begin to branch off from my story's predecessors – **_**Gundam SEED: A Retelling**_** and **_**Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Dauntless**_**.**

**Once again, I ask everyone to please kindly leave reviews! Every one is a great motivation for me!**

**At any rate, I digress. Please, enjoy the latest chapter. ^_^**

**Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply – please see previous chapters for it****.**** I also do not own the new OCs who appear in this chapter. Further disclaimer details at the bottom (to avoid any spoilers).**

* * *

Phase Fifteen: The Land of Peace

March 21, C.E. 71

* * *

The _Cousteau_

Leon sighed as he gazed at the vast ocean from his spot on the _Cousteau_'s hull, watching the nearly endless expanse of water seemingly blend together with the dark, pre-dawn sky. A slight smile crossed his lips as the gentle ocean breeze caressed his face. As much as the PLANTs tried to replicate the living conditions of Earth… it couldn't truly emulate everything. There were some things that you just had to feel for yourself to truly appreciate.

"Leon?" a voice – Tomoyo's voice – called out. Leon turned, finding the silver-gray-haired Redcoat – her hair stirring in the slight breeze – walking up to him. "What are you doing here? No one else is up, and my shift's not over yet."

Leon sighed. "I know," he replied softly, his voice lacking its usual commanding presence… yet it still seemed so much stronger than ever before. "I couldn't really sleep, and I find that listening to the ocean waves is much more peaceful and relaxing than staying in any ship cabin, no matter how nice and fancy the amenities are." His smile disappeared. "I've also had a lot to think about, and this place seemed like a good place to do it. I just… wanted to get away from it all for a while."

Tomoyo tilted her head to the side, her expression curious. "What do you mean?" she asked. "What were you thinking about, exactly?"

Leon chuckled humorlessly. "I was just thinking about whether I really knew what I was doing or not," he replied. "To be honest… I still haven't found a reason as to why I'm fighting."

"Why you're fighting…?" Tomoyo asked.

"That's right. I have nothing worth living for… and so I fight to try and give myself that something. I suppose it's partly because I have no one to go home to," Leon said, a bitter smile on his lips. "Well, I don't even _have_ a home, actually. Home is where the family lies, and… well, I don't really have a family… so sometimes I wonder and ask myself: Why fight at all?"

Tomoyo's eyes widened. "Leon… you don't mean…?"

He nodded. "Yeah, that's right," he replied, turning back to stare at the ocean. "My younger sister's missing and my parents are dead – they were killed six years ago… protecting me from Blue Cosmos agents. I saw them die, and I felt their blood splatter on me as they protected me even with their dying breaths – it's something that's been forever burned into my heart and mind. It still haunts my nightmares even now."

The silver-gray-haired Redcoat felt a slight sting behind her eyes as a dull ache throbbed within her chest. _'Leon… he… all this time… he carried that sort of pain… alone?'_

Leon gave a sad smile. "In life and in death, all my parents wished for was that I could live a life that I was happy with… but no one can deny that, while they cared for me, they also turned me – their son – into a lethal _killer_," he continued. "I'm a master of my family's traditional style of martial arts, though I'm also a first-rate practitioner of a handful of others. I can't hate my parents for doing this to me – it's something so ingrained in my family's bloodline and tradition that becoming proficient at killing people was something that was already decided for me even before I was born."

"A killer…" Tomoyo echoed, feeling her heart sink further. "Do you really think that's what you are?"

Leon chuckled – again without any trace of humor present. "Well, I definitely would rather not be one if I didn't have to, which brings me to the next point," he said. "I'm someone whose skills make him good at killing people. It's the reason I joined ZAFT – I had nothing else, so I decided to try and find a place where I could put my abilities to good use." He sighed deeply. "But there was nothing for me there, either. Neither side is in the right… Junius Seven, Endymion, Heliopolis, Tassil… this war is nothing more than an unending cycle of pointless battles fueled by a cycle of attacking and being attacked… all because of never-ending pain, sorrow, and hatred."

"Battles fought merely for revenge… they're simply catalysts for more sadness… more destruction…" Leon continued. "That's why… I don't know anymore. I'm a person who only knows how to fight… but what if my battles have no meaning…? What do I do… if I can't even believe in what I'm doing? What _can_ I do?"

Tomoyo shook her head forcefully, the stinging behind her eyes increasing. "Leon… I don't get it… why do you believe that you're nothing more than a living, breathing weapon…?" she whispered. "Why are you so determined to think that way…? How can you resign yourself to this?"

Leon smiled slightly, but Tomoyo could see it was not genuine – it was bitter and, dare she say it, full of heartache. "Why, you ask?" he asked. "It's because I accept and acknowledge the fact that I can never escape the battlefield. Even if I can't atone for my own sins… even if nothing can go back to the way it used to be… even if I know that I may not make a difference… I just want to be able to fight for something I can believe in… but god damn it all, I'm not! I don't know what the hell I'm doing here! All I'm doing is simply adding fuel to the flames of war! I'm pathetic!"

"That's wrong!" Tomoyo suddenly shouted. Leon turned back to Tomoyo, surprise flashing across his eyes as he beheld the girl _crying_. Tomoyo Asahara… the most levelheaded, emotionally detached person he'd ever met… had tears streaming from her eyes. However, in spite of the sorrow in her eyes, there was strength and conviction behind them as well, and her expression was nothing short of furious.

"That's wrong, Leon… you can't just go and say that! You aren't being fair to yourself!"

"What…?" Leon said, more than simply surprised. "Why are you…?"

"I'm crying because you can't, you idiot! I'm crying because you _aren't_, damn it all!" Tomoyo shouted in a strained voice as her tears streamed down her face. "You can't just tell yourself that you have nothing to live for! You _do_ have something to live for – you just can't see it yet! Don't tell me you don't have anyone or anything in your life, because that's not true and you damn well know it!"

"Tomoyo… you…" the golden-brown-haired Redcoat breathed. "Don't you understand? I'm not…"

"I don't care who or what you're not, idiot!" the girl replied, wearing her emotions very clearly on the surface. She was upset, that much Leon could see… but it still surprised him to know she could be _this_ upset. "I care about who you _are_! You may think that your life is empty and devoid of purpose… but you can't give up! Your family would want you to keep living! I'm sure they still believe in you… and… I want you to know that _I_ believe in you, too!"

"Why… are you so god damn stubborn?" Leon asked. "I don't understand you, Tomoyo… how can you be so determined? How can you care?"

Tomoyo smiled softly, her beautiful sapphire eyes glistening with tears. "I care because I see myself in you… We're alike, you and I…" she replied. "You say you have to redeem yourself, but that's just your self-critical introspection and survivor's guilt talking. You don't need to do anything of the sort." She placed her hands on the taller Redcoat's shoulders. "You don't owe anyone anything, Leon. The accounts don't need balancing."

Shock crossed Leon's eyes for a brief moment, before he sighed. "Heh… I certainly wish I could believe your words as easily as you do…" he replied, letting the barest hints of a smile touch his lips. "Still… I suppose I should have expected something like this from you."

He reached up and gently removed Tomoyo's hands from his shoulders before turning towards the hatch that led back into the ship's confines. Tomoyo made to follow him, but Leon simply signaled for her to stay where she was. Biting her lip, the silver-gray-haired girl simply nodded reluctantly and stepped back.

Leon hesitated for a brief moment, before he gave the slightest of smiles – a smile that shone with gratitude, yet managed to convey Leon's bitterness and self-depreciation. "Thank you, Tomoyo… Thank you for caring…" he said. "But you have to realize that I'm not worth it." With that, the golden-brown-haired Redcoat walked back into the ship, leaving Tomoyo alone. He did not stop… and he did not look back.

Tomoyo stood there on the upper deck for a moment, unmoving, before she sank to her knees. "No… you're wrong…" she whispered as she shook uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face. "You do have a reason to fight for… I heard your heart cry it out… why can't you hear it, Leon?"

After turning a few corners inside the ship, Leon stopped walking in a fairly deserted corridor of the ship and leaned against the wall, sliding down until he reached the floor.

"Kaa-san… Tou-san… Hanako… am I… doing the right thing?" he asked desperately as he looked up towards the heavens. "Tell me… what should I do…?"

* * *

A few hours later

The _Cousteau_'s Briefing Room

Later that day, the pilots of the Zala Team had gathered around the tactical map display, studying the legged ship's movements.

"I thought the legged ship was heading straight for Alaska…" Tomoyo said. "But, for some reason, they've started moving south."

"South…? You mean they're heading for Orb?" Dearka asked. When Tomoyo nodded, Yzak grit his teeth.

"Damn… so, they weren't just satisfied with helping the Naturals develop prototype mobile suits!" he said. "Now they're even going to go provide the legged ship with refuge!"

Saul shook his head. "Orb maintains their state of neutrality very strictly," he said. "Morgenroete isn't Orb, so we can't assume that the Orb government would simply just provide aid… not without a price."

"Still… the legged ship's movements have me rather curious," Nicol commented. "Why go to Orb when you can't expect any aid?"

Athrun nodded. "They could be trying to make contact with Orb to arrange for safe passage through their territory. It would be a big blow to our chances of success if they pulled that off…" he said. "Or maybe they're trying to throw us off their course by pretending to head in that direction…"

"Or maybe it could be a trap," Leon commented mildly, aware of the glances the rest of the team was sending him. Needless to say, the rest of the team was more than a little curious regarding the relationship between Leon and Tomoyo. It was obvious they were close – they normally spent much of their off-time with each other and were quite comfortable together… yet now they had chosen to put a little distance between themselves. The sudden change, along with the general cold atmosphere Leon was exuding, was… quite startling.

"It doesn't matter what they're doing," Zane said. "They're giving us a chance to attack them. We can't pass it up."

Athrun sighed, raising a hand to stop Leon and Tomoyo from replying and starting another heated argument. "Either way, that's not our main concern," Athrun replied. "If they keep their current speed, we can catch up to them by tomorrow morning. If the legged ship and its mobile suits truly _are_ heading for Orb… then we'll destroy them before they get there!"

The ultramarine-haired Redcoat faced his team. They wore determined looks on their faces, looks that mirrored the determination he felt deep within him.

"The battle of Heliopolis… it ends tomorrow!"

* * *

The _Archangel_

March 23, C.E. 71

"We have something on the sensors! Enemy units approaching!" Chandra said as warnings began to sound from his monitor.

Murrue looked back from her seat. "Can you identify them?" she asked, a sense of urgency in her voice.

"Yes, ma'am! X102 Duel… X103 Buster… that's…!"

Murrue grit her teeth. "The Le Creuset Team?" she said, shocked at how far out they'd come.

"Get the Raven, Guardian, and Skygrasper out there!" Natarle ordered. "Have the Strike and GINN provide cover from the top deck!"

"Y-yes, ma'am!" Mir replied before hitting the intercom at her station. "All units, stand-by for launch! I repeat…"

* * *

Outside Orb Union Territory

"_Damn it, these Guuls are clumsy…"_ Yzak muttered. Just like Tomoyo had said back in Gibraltar, their main weapon against the legged ship was speed and maneuverability, something that the Guuls were sorely lacking. It was going to be a crippling limitation for their mobile suits, especially for the high-speed Surge and the close combat-oriented Sentinel.

"I know," Athrun replied. "Listen up! The Guuls don't maneuver very well, so don't get too close to the legged ship or its mobile suits or you'll be an easy target! Keep your distance and aim for the legged ship's engines! We'll have won the moment they're dead in the water!"

"_Yes, sir!"_ Dearka said in a tone that was more indulgent than crisp and professional.

Ahead, the legged ship opened fire with its Igelstellungs and Valiants. On the top deck, the Strike and GINN added their firepower to the mix, prompting the ZAFT forces to take evasive action.

"Alright… they've reacted as we predicted. Everyone respond as planned!" Athrun called out as Tomoyo opened fire on the legged ship with as many of her GINN's weapons as she could bring to bear. Beams, missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and high-caliber rounds impacted against the hull with stunning accuracy, opening up small tears in some places while scorching armor in others.

"Damn, that GINN could become a real problem… the pilot's too accurate…" John muttered as he began firing at the GINN Assault Type. Tomoyo evaded the first shot, but was now forced to divide her attention between attacking the legged ship and the GINN. However, the silver-gray-haired girl seemingly danced her GINN through the air in spite of the Guul's clumsiness, evading two more shots from the Black Hawk before another shot scored her beam rifle, forcing Tomoyo to release the weapon before it exploded.

Coordinating with the barrage being laid down by Tomoyo, Zane moved in towards the legged ship, receiving minimal resistance on the way in. At maximum effective range, he took control of his thermal cannon and fired the weapon at a small patch of scorched armor, tearing through the weakened plating and opening up a hole. Not quite finished, Zane took aim with his thermal cannon and fired on the legged ship, scoring a hit on one of its large engines. However, before Zane could do anything else, he quickly drew back as a pair of railgun rounds flew through the airspace he'd been occupying moments before.

"Chris!" he yelled as he turned towards the Raven and fired his thermal cannon. The Raven pulled to the side, evading the beam, and opened fire with its machine guns, forcing Zane to pull away from the legged ship. The midnight-blue mobile armor activated its Ahura Mazda and attempted to slice through the blood-red CGUE, but Zane responded by cutting the thrust of the Guul, dropping the CGUE out of line. He turned and targeted the Raven, firing on his former friend's mobile armor with his thermal cannon.

As Dearka continued to exchange shots with the legged ship's defenses, he was continually pestered by the presence of the Hawk of Endymion's Launcher Striker-equipped Skygrasper as it continued to flit about, shots from the hyper impulse cannon filling the airspace around the Buster. While the fighter itself wouldn't have been much of a threat, the Hawk of Endymion was not the ace he was without good reason. The speed and agility of the Hawk's Skygrasper, combined with his considerable experience and skill gave him a significant advantage over the Buster and its cumbersome Guul.

Athrun was, by far, the worst-off among the Le Creuset Team's members, having to face off against the Guardian. While he was at a disadvantage in this particular fight, he knew that keeping the Guardian off of the rest of the team was doing a lot more than if he were the one assaulting the legged ship. The purple mobile armor flew in at him, aiming to cut him apart with its wing-mounted beam blades, but a beam lanced in from below, forcing the Guardian to abort its run.

"Thanks, Leon," Athrun called out as he began firing at the Guardian. The Sentinel fired only twice more before it moved on in towards the legged ship, approaching it from altitudes barely above the ocean's surface – an angle that the ship's main gun emplacements could not depress far enough to reach. Athrun nodded to himself as Leon began weaving through the weak return fire – that was the signal.

"Nicol, Saul, hit the legged ship from the sides! Target its engines!" Athrun called out, letting the team know that the next phase of their strategy was underway. The Blitz and Surge raced forward, avoiding or shooting down missiles that were fired at them as they moved towards the ship's vulnerable flanks. As soon as he was in position, Nicol took aim and fired off his lancer darts into one of the _Archangel_'s Valiant linear cannons. The three missiles penetrated deep into the cannon before detonating, destroying the Valiant. Nicol then turned his attention to the engines and fired his beam rifle, Saul's shots joining his. The beams damaged several engines, badly jarring the warship.

Noticing the pair wreaking havoc, Chris immediately turned to intercept, but beams and missiles from Zane's CGUE flew at him, cutting him off from the _Archangel _and forcing him to pull away.

"Damn it, they're slowly killing us out here!" Chris swore as the Raven shuddered under missile hits.

As the Raven, Guardian, and Skygrasper continued to battle the bulk of the Le Creuset Team, the Duel descended from above the legged ship, having gone unnoticed mainly due to the Blitz and Surge harassing the legged ship and drawing the attention of the Strike. It didn't remain unnoticed for very long as it began firing its railgun and beam rifle during its descent, aiming for the Strike.

"Strike! You go down _today_!" Yzak shouted.

John, after another fruitless exchange with the silver-white GINN Assault Type – assuming, of course, that you didn't consider yet another new hole in the _Archangel_ as fruitless – smirked as he saw the Duel begin its reckless assault.

"Kira, heads up!" the veteran sniper called out mildly. The words had barely even left his mouth when the Strike suddenly pointed its beam rifle upwards and, without so much as a glance, fired. The beam struck true, piercing the Duel's Guul. Yzak was not to be deterred, however, as he leaped off of the crippled Guul, continuing his descent even as the flight platform exploded in his wake.

"Damn, he's a stubborn one…" John muttered, but forced himself to focus on his own match once again. Realizing that he'd run out of bullets well before the GINN Assault Type did, he quickly swapped out his sniper rifle for his assault rifle and opened up.

Kira simply remained silent as he holstered his rifle and activated his thrusters, leaping up off the _Archangel_'s deck and soaring at the Duel. Kira drew one of his anti-ship swords as the Duel drew a beam saber. The two mobile suits swung as they met in the air, passing each other by.

John smirked as the Duel's beam saber died. His smirk widened as the tip of the handle fell away from the rest of the weapon, severing several essential connections and components that let the emitter function. The veteran sniper could almost see the shock on the Duel pilot's face.

"Yzak!" Saul cried out as he turned towards the Strike and flew in, attempting to provide assistance.

Seeing the Surge approaching, Kira used a quick burst from his thrusters to flip the Strike over, landing it on top of the Duel and using it as a springboard to propel himself up towards the Surge. Knowing that the Duel was still trying to shoot him down, Kira evaded and rolled, making him an extraordinarily difficult target for the Surge and the Duel to hit – at least without endangering the other should they miss their intended target.

The Strike raised its shield and slammed it directly into the Surge's torso, jarring Saul as the dark green high-speed Gundam was thrown off the Guul. Landing on the flight platform, Kira quickly cut it apart with his anti-ship sword before leaping off it. Kira fired off two precision shots as he landed on the top deck of the _Archangel_. The first shot pierced the Blitz's Guul, forcing the Blitz to leap up off of the lifter, but the second shot from the Strike slammed into the Trikeros, stopping the Blitz's momentum and forcing it down towards the ocean.

'_Kira… you've improved…'_ Athrun thought as he found a moment's reprieve from the Guardian's assault. He leveled his beam rifle at the Strike and fired. Kira intercepted the shot with his shield before retaliating with his own beam rifle, forcing Athrun to pull back a bit further from the legged ship. He swore as the Guardian reappeared, hyper impulse rifle blazing as it reengaged.

Leon, on the other hand, finally reached his target point, and fired out the right arm's Ouroboros grappler claw. The claw latched onto the _Archangel_'s hull, securing the Sentinel to the massive warship. The Redcoat hit his thrusters and reeled himself in, swinging towards the front of the warship. He detached the claw as he hit the apex of his swing, using a slingshot maneuver to send himself high into the air, right above the Strike and GINN.

"It doesn't pay to leave your back wide-open!" Leon yelled as he activated both beam blades and descended on the Strike and GINN. Kira and John responded by drawing an anti-ship sword and a beam saber, respectively, their weapons crashing against the Sentinel's crimson beam blades. Leon's eyes narrowed as his opponents turned their off-hand weapons in at him. Quickly breaking the deadlock, the Redcoat hit his thrusters and pulled away. He quickly drew both beam glaives and combined them, spinning the twin glaive and deflecting shots from the Strike's gatling gun and GINN's assault rifle.

As the storm of bullets let up, Leon quickly separated the two weapons as the GINN and Strike surged forward. His glaives crashed against the Strike and GINN's weapons as they relentlessly attacked in tandem, Leon barely managing to hold his ground. The Strike raised its anti-ship sword and brought it down, the Sentinel catching the blade using one of its beam glaives before spinning and catching the GINN's beam saber with the other glaive.

Not allowing the two to double-team him, Leon quickly broke the stalemate, knocking the GINN aside with a wide sweep before unleashing a furious series of slashes and thrusts on the Strike, forcing Kira back and leaving the brunet no choice but to divert all his attention to the cerulean blue mobile suit.

"_Mr. Alaric, I'll take him for now!"_ Kira said as he deposited his shield and drew his second anti-ship sword. _"Please give the Lieutenant, Chris__,__ and Liz covering fire!"_

The GINN holstered its assault rifle, drawing the sniper rifle once more. "Sure thing, kid," John replied as he fired, watching in satisfaction as it pierced the rifle of Zane's blood-red CGUE. "Listen up! Draw their attention as best you can! I'm going to try and snipe their Guuls!"

"_Yeah, we'll try!"_ Chris replied as he continued to trade shots with Zane's CGUE. _"But you better make it quick!"_ Chris pulled to the side, dodging another shot from the thermal cannon, before firing his railguns at his former friend. Zane easily dodged the twin rounds and responded with several shots from his thermal cannon and missile launcher, forcing Chris to back off and shoot down the missiles with his machine guns.

As Chris continued his battle with Zane, he noticed the silver-white GINN Assault Type fire another salvo of beams and missiles at the _Archangel_, dealing even more damage to the massive warship and taking out the remaining Valiant cannon in the process.

"Damn… at this rate…" he muttered. "We're going to be in trouble if the ship takes another hit like that… Liz!"

"_I'm on it!"_ Liz called out as she suddenly disengaged from the Aegis and made a beeline for Tomoyo's GINN Assault Type. Tomoyo noticed the Guardian's approach, and fired several shots in its direction, Athrun's own shots coming in from behind the fast-moving mobile armor. However, the Guardian wove through the fire and responded with its own shots as it whipped past Tomoyo's GINN, forcing the silver-gray-haired girl to dodge right into the waiting sights of the Black Hawk's sniper rifle.

"You're open!" John said. Tomoyo saw the Black Hawk's GINN aiming at her and quickly pulled to the side in response.

She was fast, but the Black Hawk was faster still. The rifle round pierced the left shoulder's gatling cannon, blowing the weapon apart and taking the arm with it. Another shot rang out, severing the GINN's right arm at its elbow. The silver-gray-haired Redcoat managed to evade several more shots from the Guardian, only for the black custom GINN to appear in front of her, beam sabers cutting through her GINN's knees. John followed up with a vicious kick to her GINN's torso, badly jarring Tomoyo within and sending the mobile suit falling to the ocean below.

As her GINN Assault hit the water, Tomoyo closed her eyes and sighed mildly. "They got me… I guess we're not a match for them just yet, are we…?" she said quietly as her GINN sank beneath the waves.

"Tomoyo, no!" Leon yelled out as his friend's GINN crashed into the ocean, concern for her safety overriding his battle sense for a brief moment. However, he forced himself to focus on his duel with Kira as the incredibly skilled Strike pilot raced towards him and thrust forward with one of his anti-ship swords. Gritting his teeth, the ZAFT Redcoat crossed his glaives and jammed them up against the sword's hand-guard, stopping the Strike's weapon mere inches from the Sentinel's faceplate.

"Damn it… not yet!" Leon said as he pushed the Strike off and stabbed the left-hand beam glaive forward. Kira quickly spun, brushing aside the Sentinel's glaive with one sword before counter-attacking with the other. Leon spun away from the attack, using the momentum to quickly deliver an upwardslash with the left hand glaive. The Strike crossed its swords, blocking the attack, but could not avoid the Sentinel's follow-up as the cerulean mobile suit turned the opposite direction this time, swinging the right hand glaive in a wide, sweeping arc that caught the Strike, knocking it back.

Leon was on the Strike before Kira could react. The moment the Strike hit the deck, it was over. However, Kira had foreseen Leon's attack and hit his thrusters, leaving him hovering directly under the Sentinel, its cannons leveled at the cerulean mobile suit.

Leon's eyes widened. _'Oh, shit…'_

At this range, there was no way Leon could get out in time. He was dead, and he knew it. All Kira had to do was pull the trigger.

Kira did indeed fire, but, much to Leon's surprise, what collided with the Sentinel were not beams, but high-velocity slugs from the Strike's rail cannons. The Strike's shots exploded against the Sentinel's chest plate. The cerulean mobile suit was blasted off of the _Archangel_ by the force of the explosions, one of its glaives dropping into the ocean below.

"_Nice moves, Kira,"_ John said, his face appearing on the monitor as Kira pulled the Strike to its feet. _"That's another one down."_

Kira shook his head. "No…" he said, surprising the sniper. "It's not over yet… not by a long shot. _He_ wouldn't give up this easily…"

His words were proven true a moment later as the Sentinel suddenly swung back up, retracting the right hand Ouroboros grappler claw before activating both beam blades. The cerulean mobile suit's crimson beam blades bathed it with a bloody hue as its demonic crimson eyes flashed dangerously, mimicking its pilot's molten red-and-gold irises. As if completing a transformation, the fiery red swirling in Leon's left eye dissolved, leaving a shining golden iris in its place.

Kira grimaced. Although the numbers were now even… the advantage was still in favor of the ZAFT forces. Needless to say, the four remaining ZAFT mobile suits were arguably the best of their team.

Everyone could see that the Duel pilot was far too driven by anger to be the danger his comrades were, but there was still no denying his tenacity. The Surge and Blitz pilots, while considerably calmer and far more in control than the Duel pilot, simply gave efforts that were too half-hearted to warrant considering them as threats. Tomoyo, while a prodigious pilot, was far too vulnerable at close-range, especially while riding on something as clumsy as a Guul. Aside from that, she was hardly aggressive and, oddly enough, always aimed to disarm her targets rather than outright destroy them.

On the other hand, Athrun was still a major force to be reckoned with. The power of the Aegis – the "leader" of the Gundams – was enough to fight on equal ground with any of the others, even if it wasn't as strong in certain areas as some of the others were. Zane, while in the second-weakest of their mobile suits, was probably the most dangerous of their opponents, for he was just as anger-driven as the Duel pilot was, but even more ruthless and more focused. Leon Vanyel was, as he was once again demonstrating, a masterful melee combatant, and his unpredictability only added more to the enigma that the Sentinel pilot represented. And, as usual, the Buster's pilot had a real talent for making a pest of himself – a dangerous pest, at that.

Even if half their enemies were already taken out, Kira could see that those they'd taken out were on the lower half of the spectrum, leaving the real threats left on the playing field. It was only worse since the Blitz had managed to fire its lancer darts into the Valiant cannon earlier while that GINN had blown holes in almost half the ship _and_ taken out the other Valiant cannon, further tipping the scales against the _Archangel_'s defenders.

"This is bad… we're in some serious trouble if this keeps up…" Kira said. "At this rate…!"

* * *

Onogoro Island, Orb Union

A lone teenage girl carefully dipped a fine paint brush into a small bottle of silver paint before lifting it and slowly stroking it against a humanoid statuette of some sort, giving life and majesty to its otherwise dull countenance. A small, content smile adorned the girl's lovely features as she painted the statuettes and brought them to life, seemingly at peace with everything as she worked.

"Right… just one more thing left…" she said to herself as she took another brush and made to dip it into a vial of purple paint. However, before the brush even made it halfway to the bottle, an incredible pain crossed her senses, cutting deep into her head as images flashed through her mind:

_Five jewel-like seeds converged on a single point. They all began to grow, becoming beautiful, glowing stars as they clashed against each other… all but one, which remained disturbingly dormant, weak, and fragile. And then, the five collided, becoming engulfed in a brilliant, multicolored nova-like explosion of light. When the light faded, the five jewels separated…_

_Three of them – a shining amethyst jewel, a dormant gray-green jewel that held a small light in its core, and a dull golden jewel devoid of life – suddenly faded into nothingness, leaving the black emptiness of space behind._

The girl gasped as she dropped her brush in shock, one hand going to her forehead as the other braced against her desk. However, much to her surprise, the searing pain had vanished just as quickly as it had come, leaving the girl slightly disoriented.

"What…?" she whispered, before her eyes widened as she realized what the relevance of those images was. "This is… I _know_ that feeling… this resonance… it isn't like before…"

This wasn't the first time she'd experienced these kinds of 'attacks', but never had they been so strong… and never had they been so brief, either. As the girl brought her slightly labored breathing under control, she suddenly, without any real thought or reasoning, turned her gaze over to a diorama of two of her other statuettes engaged in fierce combat, one wielding a medium-sized solid sword, while the other wielded what appeared to be twin spears.

The first figure was colored white, blue, and red, with a large gray-colored backpack that mounted what appeared to be a pair of large cannons and a pair of flight wings, while the second figure was almost entirely cerulean blue with bright yellow-gold trim, dragon heads on its forearms, and a large thruster array on its back. The second figure's spears were crossed, locked together as they pushed against the first figure's sword.

She glanced at the titles she'd written on a piece of paper to distinguish them from the rest: Knight and Lancer. However, she suddenly shook her head, took a piece of paper and a pen, and quickly wrote down a brief note before placing the paper beneath the one that held the two models' titles. With that done, she quickly put away her painting materials, set aside the model she'd been working on to let it dry, and left her room in a hurry.

As the door closed, a sudden gust of wind came in through the open window, stirring the two papers next to the diorama. The first – the one with the titles of the two mobile suits – shifted aside, revealing the second note that the girl had hastily scribbled down.

Written on the piece of paper were the words "Strike" and "Sentinel".

* * *

The _Archangel_

"_We have an Orb fleet stationed at the boundary line. They're about 4500 klicks ahead at two o'clock,"_ Jackie Tonomura said over the comm. line, prompting a curse from Chris.

"Damn… they just closed the door on us…" Chris muttered as he continued to trade shots with Zane. "Just… back… off already!" He fired a round from his railguns before he shifted his aim to the right and waited. As he expected, Zane pulled to _his_ left, stopping right in Chris' sights. Zane quickly noticed his mistake and began to correct it, but his move was already far too late to prevent the Raven's railgun rounds from scoring direct hits on the CGUE's armor, sending the blood-red mobile suit tumbling away.

As the battle continued to wear on, Neumann was doing everything he could to keep the _Archangel_ out of Orb waters. Murrue and Natarle continued to furiously shout out orders, even as Cagalli ran onto the bridge, Kisaka right behind her.

"_This is a warning to the approaching Earth Forces warship and all ZAFT forces in the vicinity,"_ the voice of the Orb Fleet's commander sounded over an open comm. line. _"You are currently approaching Orb Union territory. We strictly prohibit any and all armed ships, aircraft, and mobile suits from entering our territory. Turn your forces away, or we will remove you by force."_

Zane smirked as he continued to trade shots with the Raven. It was over – the legged ship was done for, one way or another. If the Le Creuset Team somehow managed not to sink the legged ship, then the Orb Forces waiting on the border would simply do it for them.

'_Damn it, this isn't good… We're stuck,'_ Chris thought as he fired on Zane with his machine guns and rail cannons, forcing the ZAFT pilot to pull away from the _Archangel_. _'If we try to enter Orb, they'll blow us out of the water… but even if we turned away, the ship's taken too much damage. There's no way we can survive their next attack…'_

"_I repeat: alter your course at once,"_ the Orb commander once again called out. _"This is your second and final warning. If you fail to alter your course immediately, we will exercise our right to defend our territory from encroachment."_

"Don't listen to him," Cagalli said, prompting Murrue and Natarle to look at the blonde girl, surprise evident on their features. "It'll be fine. Stay on your course and keep heading towards Orb."

Cagalli ran up to Flay's station and took her headset, ignoring her annoyed protests. "Who the hell do you think you are, spouting that crap after seeing the mess we're in?" Cagalli shot back hotly. "The _Archangel_ is going to enter Orb territorial waters! Do _not_ attack us!"

Athrun froze for a short instant. _'That voice on the comm. line… Cagalli?'_

"Great… _just_ great…" Chris said as he shook his head. "She's gonna mouth off at Orb, completely piss them off, and likely get us all killed in the process…"

"_Who the hell is this?"_ the Orb commander replied, his face appearing on the transmission screen on the _Archangel_'s bridge.

"Who the hell are you?" Cagalli shouted back. "If you can't figure out who I am, then contact your superior! Contact my father! Contact Uzumi Nara Athha!"

Everyone in the vicinity froze – the ZAFT pilots, the _Archangel_'s pilots and crew, the crewmen of the Orb Fleet – unable to believe what they had just heard.

"My name is Cagalli Yula Athha! I'm the daughter of Uzumi Nara Athha!" Cagalli finished.

"Oh, hell no… you have _got_ to be kidding me!" Chris said, surprise and disbelief flooding through his voice. "_She's_ the daughter of the Lion of Orb?"

"_It looks like our Overemotional Goddess is actually an Overemotional Princess,"_ John commented dryly, though Chris still detected a hint of humor in his voice. _"I definitely did _not_ see that one coming… of course, this could all be some brilliant ploy of hers to confuse everyone to the point that Orb lets us in to sort this entire mess."_

"_I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but there's absolutely no way that Lord Athha's daughter would be on that warship!"_ the Orb commander said, sounding furious as he closed the comm. line and, in essence, the discussion. Just then, the _Archangel_ shook under heavy fire once again as the ZAFT forces continued their relentless persecution.

"No need to get all flustered about it," Dearka said, addressing the Orb commander even though it was obvious he could not hear the ZAFT Redcoat's words. "They're not going to make it to your territory." Dearka fired his beam rifle and gun-launcher simultaneously on the legged ship. "I'll finish them off first!"

"Not you again!" Mu said as he closed in with the Buster and fired the Agni at the artillery mobile suit. The Buster dodged the powerful beam, maneuvering into the Skygrasper's wake and repeatedly firing its gun-launcher. The Hawk of Endymion nimbly dodged the Buster's shots, several of them hitting the water a few hundred meters short of the Orb fleet. Not close enough to be considered as opening hostilities… but still a little too close for comfort.

"_Dearka! Don't hit the Orb ships! Go around and attack the legged ship from the other side!"_ Athrun said as the Guardian reengaged him in aerial combat, forcing him to divert his attention away from the legged ship.

"How do I do that?" Dearka questioned. His eyes widened as several high-caliber rounds suddenly pierced his Guul in strategic locations. "What the hell?"

"Don't you know, kid? You're not supposed to sit still if there's an enemy sniper hanging around!" John said as he fired again, this time scoring the Guul's fuel tank. The Buster leaped off of the Guul as it exploded, dodging another shot from Mu's Agni before combining its beam rifle and gun-launcher into the anti-armor shotgun.

Dearka fired, his spread shot lancing out and heavily damaging over half of the _Archangel_'s main engines. Without any way of sustaining his altitude, Dearka simply cut his thrusters and allowed the Buster to hit the water.

'_Finally… he did something useful…'_ Zane thought as the legged ship crashed into the ocean, and into Orb territorial waters. Zane took aim with his thermal cannon, but his eyes widened when the Raven appeared right in front of him, both beam sabers drawn. Chris struck with both sabers, bringing them down on the blood-red CGUE. Zane quickly drew his CGUE's sword to block one saber, using his shield to block the other. Chris, however, was far from finished, and slammed the Raven's knee into the CGUE's chest, knocking it off the Guul and sending it careening into the ocean.

Even as he fell, Zane furiously took aim with the thermal cannon, but was beaten to the punch. Chris landed on Zane's Guul and fired his railguns down at his former friend's CGUE. The shots collided with the assault shroud's armor, throwing Zane completely off. Unable to do anything, Zane could only let out a frustrated yell as his CGUE sank beneath the water's surface. Up in the air, Chris quickly cut the Guul apart before leaping off it, transforming back into mobile armor mode.

Athrun grimaced, and for very good reason. In the blink of an eye, the situation had turned against them. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't risk pursuing the legged ship at this point. The only ones still remaining were himself and Leon, putting them at a clear numerical disadvantage. Not only that, but the legged ship had landed right in Orb's territory, and with all its mobile suits in, more-or-less, perfect condition.

Athrun backed off from the Guardian, Raven, and Skygrasper, pulling away from the badly damaged legged ship as missiles and cannon rounds filled the air, crossing from the Orb fleet to the Earth Forces warship. "Leon, get out of there," he said. "We're all out of options – we're outgunned, we're outmatched, and we can't win this battle. Let's pull back."

Leon let out a slight sigh as he backed off from the Strike and GINN, blinking once as his eyes returned to their normal icy blue hue. Before the two mobile suits could react, he quickly leaped off the legged ship and activated his thrusters, keeping himself a meter or two above the water's surface as he slowly began to pull back.

Leon, in spite of himself, opened a wide-channel communiqué. "I congratulate the legged ship's pilots for a valiant display of skill and determination," he said as he saluted with his remaining beam glaive. "Until we meet again."

The Sentinel's pilot took one last look at the legged ship and its mobile suits before he retreated, following Athrun back to the _Cousteau_.

With the ZAFT forces gone, the Raven and Guardian set down next to the Strike and GINN, watching the incoming projectiles as they continued to stream in towards the _Archangel_. Chris and Liz were more than a little concerned as the majority of their shots came dangerously close to hitting the badly damaged warship.

"_This doesn't look good…"_ Liz muttered.

John shook his head. _"It's not as bad as you imagine it to be,"_ he said. _"Look closely – none of their shots are hitting us. It looks like our Overemotional Princess wasn't bluffing."_

Once it had been confirmed that ZAFT had long since left the area and they'd moved a bit deeper into Orb territory, the Orb forces ceased firing and positioned themselves around the _Archangel_, escorting the damaged warship to a hidden dock at Onogoro.

"This dock is owned by the Orb government and Morgenroete," Kisaka explained. "Not even satellites will be able to locate the _Archangel_ once it enters."

"Don't you think it's about time that you dropped the act and told us who you really are?" Murrue asked.

Kisaka snapped to attention and saluted. "I am Colonel Ledonir Kisaka of the Orb Union Armed Forces, 21st Airborne Division," he said, before turning a bemused smile towards Cagalli. "I am Lady Cagalli's bodyguard."

"No way…" Mir whispered to Sai. "So, she's like… the real thing…"

Murrue shook her head. "In any case, should I allow myself to be grateful at this sudden turn of events?" she asked, prompting a bit of an enigmatic smile from Kisaka.

"I believe that's a question better directed at the people you're going to meet fairly soon…" the Orb officer replied.

* * *

The _Cousteau_'s Briefing Room

One hour later

"So, you're asking me to simply accept this report?" Yzak asked, slamming the paper down on the tactical board. "This announcement from Orb is nothing but a pile of crap!"

"Do they really expect us to believe that the legged ship has already left their territory?" Dearka asked from where he sat. "Are they trying to make fools out of us? Or are they simply toying with us because we have a raw commander in charge?"

"Dearka!" Nicol admonished, his tone showing that he was more than just a little annoyed. "Don't blame Athrun for this!"

"That's right," Saul added. "If we stayed, we would have gotten killed for sure."

"But if you look at it from another point of view, we shouldn't have let the legged ship escape us _again_," Zane said. "We should have finished them off when we had the chance to do it."

Leon shook his head. "The moment the Orb fleet decided to intervene, any chances we had evaporated into thin air," he said. "That's assuming, of course, that you wanted to make it back alive after the mission."

"If your past actions were any indication, though, you were probably just thinking of whether we could have gotten the legged ship regardless of casualties to our own team," Leon said icily. "That sort of reckless abandon is _exactly_ why you weren't put in charge, _Scirocco_. What chance are you talking about? That time you ran off and entered the atmosphere just to get another shot at the Raven? That time you nearly put Lady Lacus in the line of fire? What a joke – you wouldn't care what happened to anyone else as long as you got your shot at the Raven."

"That's enough, Leon," Athrun said. "Fighting each other isn't going to help us any." Leon simply shrugged and held out his hands, palms up. The rest of the team exchanged nervous glances, no one missing the murderous glare Zane sent at Leon.

"I was just saying," the golden-brown-haired Redcoat said. "I don't want anyone to get killed because of reckless actions based solely on personal vendettas."

"I know what you mean, but it's still not the current issue here," Athrun replied, absolutely determined to prevent the potentially explosive situation from deteriorating any further. "As things are, we can't deny that Orb has given us their official response. Complain or call them liars all you want, but it won't change the current situation. We can't antagonize them without any proof."

"What are you talking about, Athrun?" Yzak shouted. "What are you so afraid of? All we have to do is attack them and we'll flush the legged ship out of hiding!"

"This isn't the same situation as Heliopolis, Yzak," Athrun replied, an edge in his voice. "You're talking about taking on an entire nation. If we initiate such a blatant attack, the homeland will get involved and we'll have a diplomatic crisis on our hands!"

"Hmph… your analysis is incredibly rational, Athrun… oh, I'm sorry. It's _Commander Zala_, isn't it?" Yzak replied, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"In case you haven't noticed, Yzak, Orb's military might and technological advancements are both far too great for us to simply force our way in. It would be suicide to try it," Tomoyo added, speaking up for the first time since they'd gotten back to the _Cousteau_. "Not doing anything will certainly produce better results than that reckless plan you're suggesting."

"Hold on a sec…" Dearka said, suddenly serious for once. "So are you saying that we should simply just take their word for it and leave?"

"Not quite. For now, I'll ask Carpentaria to apply some official pressure," Athrun said, arms crossed. "But if the situation doesn't resolve itself… then we'll simply have to sneak in and investigate it ourselves. Does everyone agree with that?"

"Ah… you want to try and find the legged ship's hiding place," Nicol said, looking thoughtful. "Pinpointing the legged ship's location will be much easier to do from the inside."

"That sounds good," Saul said, nodding in agreement. "At least it won't turn out like Heliopolis."

Zane nodded. "I agree – it's a good plan," he said. "If we find proof of the legged ship's presence in Orb, then that changes the entire situation. We'll be able to discredit Orb's so-called official announcements."

"Very well," Yzak said, placated for the time being by the majority vote. "I'll go along with this plan of yours… for now, at least. If it were up to me, we'd simply be forcing our way in. But I can't disagree with the son of Defense Chairman Zala, now, can I?" Yzak stood up, heading for the exit with Dearka right behind him. "Besides… we might even be able to see the face of the Strike's pilot."

Athrun frowned at that. Kira was piloting the Strike… he knew that they'd eventually have to kill each other… Once again, he found himself torn between his friendship with Kira and his duty to ZAFT and the PLANTs.

Tomoyo shook her head. "Yzak," she said, catching the other pilot's attention. "The fact that you'd rather get us all killed in a reckless suicide mission than think of a better alternative is a very good reason why you're not in charge and Athrun is – it's not just because of his father's name. He's taken into account the repercussions such an attack would incur, and has chosen to act accordingly to avoid any worst-case scenarios. ZAFT has already messed up once with Heliopolis – we can't risk doing something like that again."

"One more thing," Leon added as he pushed off from the bulkhead he was leaning against. "When we infiltrate Orb, it'll be a ground operation, meaning that falls under my jurisdiction and my command. I have to know now – if, by some chance, we _do_ come across the Strike's pilot, can you keep your cool? Zane, I want to ask you the same thing regarding the Raven's pilot. If we start a fight right in the middle of Orb because of unchecked emotions, it wouldn't matter if we did find some evidence of the legged ship's presence or not, because we're not making it out of there. I need to address this issue before we go in, because to me, everyone's safety comes first, not the mission objective."

The rest of the team frowned. Leon made some interesting points, for sure, but it still surprised them to hear those points coming from someone as detached as he was. Zane considered those points, and nodded.

"I don't think I could…" he admitted, his voice softer than they'd ever heard it. "If we do end up infiltrating Orb, I'll probably end up as a liability." Zane thought it through a bit more, and decided that if Athrun came across the Strike's pilot in Orb, that would be enough to convince him that the legged ship was still there. All they'd have to do afterwards would be to wait for the legged ship to leave Orb, which would be a wise move for them, considering that Le Creuset still had to move things along a bit further before Orb could get involved. "I'll sit out the infiltration mission, if it comes to that."

Leon nodded. He had a feeling that he knew what Zane was thinking, but decided that the reasons he gave were enough for now. He turned to face Yzak.

"How about you, Yzak…?" he asked. The other pilot stayed silent for a few moments, before he nodded.

"I think I can restrain myself," he said. "But, even if I couldn't, you wouldn't be able to stop me from going." With that, Yzak left the room, Dearka right behind him.

Leon sighed, before turning away. "I see… I figured as much," he said as the rest of the team slowly filed out, leaving him alone.

Or so he thought.

"Leon?" a voice asked. He sighed – it was the one voice he really did _not_ want to hear at the moment.

"Tomoyo… what is it?" Leon asked as he turned to face the silver-gray-haired girl. She looked down, her hands clasped together as they rested on her lap.

Leon regarded Tomoyo for a few minutes, but the girl simply remained silent, even as something obviously troubled her. Still, Leon knew he wouldn't get anything out of her if she didn't want to say anything. With that, the golden-brown-haired Redcoat simply turned and made for the exit.

"Something's bothering you…" she suddenly said, stopping Leon cold at the exit. "Even if you try to hide it, I can see that you're shaking… Leon, what's wrong?"

Leon smiled lightly – he should have guessed that, if anyone would notice, it would be her. "I guess… I never imagined I'd ever come back…" he said softly. "Coming back like this… makes me feel more like a wanderer entering someplace new than a child who's found his way back to a place he once called home."

With that, Leon walked off, leaving Tomoyo alone in the briefing room as he disappeared down the hallways of the _Cousteau_.

"Home…" she whispered, before her eyes widened in sudden realization. "It can't be… Leon, you're…?"

* * *

Orb Parliament Building

Onogoro Island

Murrue, Natarle, and Mu stiffened slightly as the door to the conference room they'd been led to finally opened, revealing a middle-aged man with long, graying hair and a thick beard and mustache. He was quite tall, possessing a bearing of authority and nobility, clad as he was in the suit of an Orb parliament official. The three officers instantly recognized him as the famed Lion of Orb, Uzumi Nara Athha. A man a few years Athha's elder was with him. The older man was clad in the uniform of an officer of the Orb Union Armed Forces, the rank tabs on the chest and collar indicating him to be a General. He was even taller than Athha and possessed a trim, solid build that spoke to a lifetime on the battlefield. He wore his gray hair short, but as long as military regulations allowed it. His eyes, however, were a piercing and very familiar grayish-green.

"Hello, and welcome," Athha said as he sat down across from the three officers. "I am Uzumi Nara Athha, head of the Athha House." He motioned to the general who had remained standing. "And this is my close friend and military advisor…"

"General Samuel Dante," he said, nodding slightly. "I'm currently serving as the liaison between Morgenroete and the Orb military."

"Dante…?" Mu asked. "As in-"

"Yes," Samuel replied, a bit of a smile touching his lips. "I am the grandfather of Christopher and Elizabeth Dante, and the father-in-law of Johanna Dante. You have my thanks for watching over them for me. They're the only family I have left after the death of David and Claire, Christopher and Elizabeth's parents."

"Um… you're welcome…" Murrue said, before the door opened to admit a raven-haired, emerald-eyed woman. She was definitely beautiful, clad in a conservative yet elegant dress that bore a design that none of the three Earth Forces officers could recognize.

"I apologize for my tardiness, Uzumi," she said pleasantly. "My daughter had another one of her… attacks. This one was a bit troubling, because it was much stronger than any of the others."

Uzumi shook his head. "It's fine. More importantly, is she all right?"

The lady smiled slightly. "Yes. She's with her cousins right now," she replied. "They volunteered to look after her while I was taking care of business here."

Uzumi, catching sight of the uncertain looks on the faces of the three officers, smiled. "Ah, yes, would you like me to introduce you? This is…"

"Serenity Sakaeru Taiyonoha, at your service," the black-haired woman said, the slight smile still on her face as she gave a slight bow of greeting, her right hand over her heart.

Uzumi nodded as Serenity took a seat. "Well, now that the pleasantries and introductions are taken care of… it's time to deal with the matters at hand," he said. "The official statement that we've sent out says that Orb's Second Defense Fleet fired on the _Archangel_, driving it from our territorial waters."

"Do you really expect ZAFT to believe that?" Mu asked. Uzumi shook his head, but it was Serenity who spoke up.

"They won't, but they can't do anything about it because they can't disprove what we've said," she replied. "It's also highly unlikely that they'll take any military action against us without some solid evidence to show that we're lying to them. The proof they need is the sort that takes so long to obtain that the war would probably have ended before they finally get their hands on it."

Mu nodded. "If they just went up and attacked without any evidence, it would be an indiscriminate act of war," he said. "They can't afford to have to face Orb _and_ the Alliance at the same time, not with the manpower they have."

"Exactly right," Samuel said. "As it is, ZAFT is stretched rather thinly. If they attack us, they'd have to draw away so many forces from other, more vital theaters of war. They can't afford to do that, not here on Earth. Even with their mobile suits and superior technology, ZAFT still lacks the numbers necessary to gain a decisive advantage over the Earth Alliance."

"I just have to ask…" Mu said. "You didn't just save us because we had your daughter, an Orb officer, and the General's grandchildren onboard, did you?"

Uzumi smiled. "Did you expect us to risk the fate of our entire nation simply to save three children and one of my most trusted aides?" he asked rhetorically.

"No, sir. Please excuse me if I implied that with my question," Mu said apologetically.

"If it were only that simple, then things would be so much easier," Uzumi said. "Heliopolis; the children of this nation who volunteered to become Earth Alliance soldiers; the success of the G-Weapons in battle after battle… I've thought over these things many, many times. Would it have been wiser if we had just allowed the _Archangel_ and its mobile suits to be destroyed? Even now, I am still wondering if I have truly made the right decision."

"Lord Uzumi… Lady Serenity… General Dante…" Murrue said. "I apologize… for Heliopolis and for the children. I know my words cannot suffice for an official apology, but this is my personal stand. I'm truly sorry for everything that has happened."

"No, please forget it. No apologies are needed," Uzumi replied. "There's plenty of blame to share, since this also happens to be an inherent problem of our nation. The reason we maintain our stance of neutrality is because we do not want to become an enemy to either Naturals or Coordinators. We cannot uphold our ideals and intentions without power… and yet with power, we become a target. However, I'm sure that, as soldiers, this isn't the type of discussion you'd like to be having."

"In any case, we should explain to you why we didn't let your ship be destroyed," Samuel said. "We'd actually like to make a deal with you."

"What…?" Murrue breathed. "A… deal…?"

"That's correct," Samuel replied. "We'd like you to provide us with all the combat data of your three mobile suits, particularly that of the Strike, as well as all the data available on the _Archangel_. We'd also like to request that your pilots, particularly young Kira Yamato, lend their technical support to Morgenroete. We're willing to provide you with extensive assistance with your repairs if you agree to our terms."

"That… but that's…" Murrue said, disbelief evident in her expression.

"It would help us a great deal if you would accept our offer," Uzumi said. "Of course, I do believe we're not asking for much, especially when you consider what we're giving you in return."

Mu frowned. "And if we refuse?"

"Then we'll have to ask you to leave immediately," Uzumi said. "If you need some time to think it over, then we can give it to you. We'll come by for your answer tonight."

"We look forward to your cooperation," Samuel added. "We'll provide you an escort back to your ship when you're ready to leave."

With that, Uzumi and Samuel left the room, the door clicking shut behind the aging general.

"So that's the famed Lion of Orb, Uzumi Nara Athha…" Mu said, smiling slightly. "He's… definitely as tough as they say he is."

"Well, now that Uzumi's gone…" Serenity said. "I'd like to have a short word with you three before you leave, if you don't mind."

The three officers shared uncertain glances, before Murrue nodded. "What is it about…?"

Serenity gave a short sigh. "I'm sure you're still a bit dubious about Lord Uzumi's requests," she said. "However, that is simply what Orb is asking for in return for providing you with refuge. I actually have another request I'd like to make."

Mu chuckled. "What's next?" he asked. "You want us to give you the Strike, Raven, and Guardian as a souvenir?"

Serenity shook her head. "Not quite. This request is actually a personal favor," she replied. "No one else is going to know about this outside of you three and the Taiyonoha family."

That stopped the fighter ace short. "Uh… okay, so what are you asking for?"

"It's a simple request. I'm not asking for much, even in comparison to the terms Lord Uzumi has laid on the table," Serenity said. "Once everything's been settled and you've worked out your end of the bargain, I'd like it if you would give me an opportunity to meet with Kira Yamato and Christopher Dante."

"Kira and Chris?" Murrue asked, quite surprised at the odd request. "Why those two, if I may ask?"

"I can't tell you those reasons… not yet, at least," Serenity replied. "If that's all, then I shall take my leave. There are still other matters I have to attend to."

Mu sighed as he stood. "I was… going to keep my mouth shut, but…" he said. "Isn't Orb putting itself at great risk by sheltering us?"

Serenity smirked. "There are a number of _very_ good reasons why we're doing all of this for you," she said as she stood as well. "I wouldn't be lying if I said that quite a few of us – myself included – have some personal interest in this situation, but our main motivation is still to use this opportunity to help protect Orb's best interests."

The head of the Taiyonoha family walked over to a small window and gazed out. "Think about it. Orb is a small nation," she said. "Don't you think we'll do whatever we have to do to remain neutral?"

Serenity turned partway, smiling at the three Earth Forces officers. "I think even making a few unsavory deals… is better than going to war," she continued. "Wouldn't you agree?"

* * *

The _Archangel_

A number of the _Archangel_'s crewmembers were gathered in the ship's crew quarters, watching as Cagalli, now clad in a dress befitting someone of her social status, fought with a servant as she was led off the ship. It formed a strange sort of procession, what with the crewmembers parted on both sides to allow Cagalli to pass.

Chris and Flay stood near the tail end of the line. Neither had spoken to Sai since that night when he'd discovered their relationship, and they'd both tried to avoid him as much as possible aside from Flay's bridge duties.

When Chris caught sight of Cagalli, he grinned. "Holy crap! She's a girl!"

Many, if not all, of the crew members began chuckling or outright laughing at Chris' comment, while Cagalli blushed in embarrassment. "Why do you people keep saying that?"

"Two reasons," Chris replied, his grin growing by the second. "First, it's amusing and fun. Second, it's to let you know that you act more like a guy than a girl."

Cagalli growled in frustration as she was led away and prevented from starting a fight, prompting Chris to laugh at the girl's plight.

* * *

The _Archangel_, Captain's Office

"So, what do you all think?" Murrue asked, looking at Mu, Natarle, and John. Aside from the three officers who had attended the meeting, John had been called in to offer his own views and opinions, not only because of his skills, experience, and wide-ranging knowledge, but also because of his expertise and former status as a ZAFT commander.

"To be honest, I'm not frightened by their intimidation," Natarle said. "However, their offer is something we have no choice but to take up. That's not all. At the very least and in many ways, we owe them this for the destruction of Heliopolis."

John whistled. "Well, I never thought I'd hear that from you, Lieutenant," he said. "I expected you to be the one to actually _oppose_ accepting their offer."

"Yes, but we wouldn't last ten minutes if we just limped out now," Natarle replied. "Not in our state."

Mu nodded. "Yeah, that's right…" he said. "We're all aware of that."

"Still, you surprised me with that one," John said. "When I first met you, I was reminded a _little_ bit too much of my former second in the Alaric Team. I'm sure Mu over there knows her. Goes by the name of Diana Kessel."

Mu involuntarily shivered.

John chuckled. "We all called her the Ice Queen of the Alaric Team," he continued, a bit of a smirk in his features. "And she's one hell of a stickler for rules." He sighed. "Still, I digress. It was my first impression of you, and, no matter how inaccurate it actually is, it still lasts."

Natarle considered John's words for a moment, before nodding.

"I understand what you're saying," she said. "At any rate, I'm for accepting Orb's terms."

Mu nodded. "Same here. We need their help, like it or not."

John shrugged. "Hey, I'm just a mercenary, but…" he said, a little smirk lighting up his features once again. "What the heck. I'm all for it. I have some things Orb might actually be interested in. I'll see if we can't get a little extra for that."

Murrue nodded. "Very well. Then we are all in agreement," she said. "Commander La Flaga and Mr. Alaric, I'd like you to accompany Kira and the others tomorrow morning, if that's fine with you."

"Didn't I say for you all to call me John?" the sniper asked, mock frustration in his tone. He downed the last of his coffee before standing up. "Don't worry, I'll go round them up. You three just let Orb know what we've decided."

* * *

Onogoro Island

March 24, C.E. 71

While the majority of Onogoro's citizens slept soundly in their homes, three mobile suits walked down a winding, empty cliff road. Within the Raven, Chris yawned.

"Couldn't they have just gotten us a pair of transport trucks?" he asked. "I don't think it would have been too hard for them to do it… and it would have been so much easier than taking this god-forsaken cliff road at five in the morning."

Down in the jeep leading the three mobile suits, their guide, who had introduced herself as Minako Rei Arata, laughed. _"Well, Lord Uzumi and Aunt Serenity both want to keep this as low-key as humanly possible,"_ she said._ "The less people who know about this, the better."_

"Why does it even matter?" Chris asked, his annoyance mostly, but not entirely, due to having been rudely awoken three hours after midnight. "I mean, by the end of the day, everyone at Morgenroete will know that we're here."

"_On the contrary, hardly anyone will know what we're actually doing,"_ Minako replied lightly. _"The Taiyonoha family is one of the majority share-holders of Morgenroete, meaning it essentially has an influential say on everything that goes on in it. The Minamoto family did as well, but… Anyways, trust me, aside from a few baseless rumors flying around, there won't be a single soul besides the most trusted of Morgenroete's employees that know we're here."_

"_It's also better to be safe than sorry,"_ John said from where he sat in the passenger side next to Minako. _"While I'm willing to trust the Taiyonoha and Morgenroete, we can't be sure if the Le Creuset Team has bought our story, if they're out there waiting for us, or if they've even decided to try and infiltrate us… I'm willing to bet on one of the latter two, especially if that masked creep Le Creuset is with them."_

"_He's not with them,"_ Mu replied. _"I know when the guy's near – I can feel him, somehow."_

"_Something related to your old age, Commander?"_ Liz asked, giggling. The rest shared a good laugh at Mu's expense, with the blonde commander looking absolutely horrified at the notion.

"_How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not old?"_ he asked, his tone halfway between mock indignation and long-time suffering. _"I'm only twenty-eight! My age is still seen on a calendar!"_

The laughter from the rest only increased, before Minako calmed herself down. _"All right, that's enough fun at the Commander's expense,"_ she said, though her voice still carried a clear tone of amusement. _"We're here."_

A few minutes later, the Strike, Raven and Guardian had been secured in a secret hangar hidden deep underground within one of Morgenroete's top-security areas. Kira, Chris, and Liz, all wearing Morgenroete uniforms, disembarked from their mobile suits. Waiting for them were Mu and John, both clad in the same Morgenroete uniform they wore – though John still wore his coat over it – and a young teen who the three pilots could only assume was Minako.

For Kira, Chris, and Liz, at least, this was their first real look at Minako, and they could all say that she was quite a treasure. She was around five feet, eight inches in height, with long, light brown hair and light blue eyes that were the highlight of soft, beautiful features. Unlike the five pilots, she wore no Morgenroete uniform. Instead, her entirely civilian outfit consisted of a sleeveless white shirt, blue jeans, a pair of bracelets on either of her wrists, and a pendant around her neck.

"So, you three are the pilots we've all been hearing so much about," she said, smiling cheerfully. "I'm Minako – Minako Rei Arata of the Taiyonoha House. It's good to meet you."

The group turned as they were approached by two women wearing the uniforms of Morgenroete technical chiefs, one of whom they instantly recognized as Chris and Liz's aunt, Johanna Dante.

"Thank you for bringing them here, Minako," the other, a woman with brown hair and emerald eyes, said. "Hello there. I'm Shizuka Kaioh Taiyonoha."

John looked around, whistling appreciatively. "So, this is the heart of Morgenroete…" he said. "This is where the designs for the G-Weapons were first conceived."

"That's right," Shizuka said as she led the group to another hangar, where another woman, also clad in the uniform of a technical chief, waited for them. "While they were constructed in Heliopolis, this is the true birthplace of the G-Weapons."

"Welcome to Morgenroete," the other woman said. "I'm Erica Simmons, one of the senior engineers in Morgenroete's R&D Division."

John nodded. "Ah, speaking of which, that reminds me…" he said, fishing for something in his coat's pocket. He pulled out a pocket hard disk and handed it to Erica.

"And what would this be?" she asked.

"While we were out in the desert, I took some time to study the schematics and data for the Strike, Raven, and Guardian, and came up with some… interesting things," he said. "However, it's all just data, so I can't do anything with it. I'm willing to give it to those who _can_ – namely, you people here at Morgenroete – in exchange for some supplies that can make the _Archangel_'s journey just a little more pleasant."

Erica exchanged a mildly amused glance with Shizuka, before turning back to the sniper. "You're an ex-ZAFT commander, aren't you?" she asked as she flipped the disk over, examining it.

"Yes, but know that I have no intentions of ratting Orb or Morgenroete out to ZAFT or anyone else," John replied. "I'm _not_ going to hand out any of your technology to the PLANTs, either. As an expression of my sincerity and goodwill, that disk there is the only copy of what I've come up with."

Erica nodded, before handing the disk to Johanna. "Could you see what's on it for me?" she asked.

Johanna nodded. "Right away, ma'am," she replied, hurrying off with the disk as the rest of the group turned to the still-sealed hangar.

"Now, I'm sure you all have a lot of questions, but I think you should reserve your questions until after you've seen them…" Erica said, earning confused glances from the five _Archangel_ pilots.

"Seen them…?" Mu asked. Erica smiled as she took out a small remote and hit a switch. The hangar doors opened smoothly with a loud rumble.

Shizuka and Erica led the group in, and the _Archangel_'s pilots stopped dead. Within the hangar were rows of mobile suits, models that they'd never seen before. The mobile suits looked similar enough to the Strike, yet were still quite clearly a new model. Kira, Chris, Liz, Mu, and John all stared at the mobile suits in wide-eyed amazement, unable to believe the sheer number of units they saw in this one hangar. Minako, on the other hand, was solemn, remaining unnaturally quiet.

"Admiring the Astrays?" came a man's voice suddenly, snapping the five pilots back into reality. "They're impressive, I'll admit. But they're still nowhere near the levels of your mobile suits." A gray-haired Orb Forces General approached. "It's been quite a while, Chris, Liz."

The two siblings' eyes widened. They _knew_ that voice! They turned in perfect synchronization, elated surprise etched on their features.

"Grandpa?" they said at the same time. Samuel Dante smiled and scooped his grandchildren up into a hug that looked like it should have crushed their bones had they not been Coordinators.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you two well," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "When I heard about what happened at Heliopolis, I feared the worst." He released his grandchildren and turned to Kira, extending a hand, which the young brunet took.

"And you must be Kira Yamato," Samuel said, shaking Kira's hand firmly. "I've heard quite a bit about you. I am General Samuel Dante of Orb. I'm Chris and Liz's grandfather."

There was something odd about his gaze, something Kira couldn't place, but he shook it aside. John, as well, noticed it, but the Dante siblings didn't, simply happy to see their grandfather again.

"Lieutenant Commander Mu La Flaga, of the _Archangel_," Mu said, extending a hand.

The aging Orb General let a small smile cross his features as he shook Mu's hand. "Your reputation precedes you, Commander. It's a pleasure."

Samuel then turned to John, frowning thoughtfully. "Now, you look familiar, but your name eludes me," he said. "I _have_ seen you before… however, I cannot place from where."

"I'm John Alaric, former Commander of ZAFT's Alaric Team," John said, extending a hand.

"The Black Hawk?" Samuel asked, smiling slightly as he shook the sniper's hand. "Well, this is a surprise. Everyone said you'd been assassinated, but I should have guessed a man of your caliber wouldn't be so easily killed."

"Ah, General. I wasn't sure you'd be able to join us this morning," Erica said. Samuel sighed in response.

"You know how politicians are," he said. "Always arguing and passing blame on everybody but themselves. There are those that still want us to kick the _Archangel_ out of Orb just so we can avoid a war with ZAFT. Those damned Seirans are all the same, they're nothing but a bunch of spineless cowards. Say what you will about the Sahaku and their more questionable dealings. At least they have some backbone in them. And, unfortunately, Lady Serenity has the unfortunate tendency to be more than a little hostile with her words. I thank Haumea for Lord Uzumi. If it wasn't for him, there wouldn't be anything stopping this blasted government from caving in now that the Minamoto are gone."

"My sister has always been a sensible person, though," Shizuka said, still keeping an eye on Minako. "I don't doubt that Serenity wouldn't hesitate to stab someone in the back if it would serve Orb's best interests. Still… I really do wish that the Minamoto were still around to support Orb."

"Aunt Serenity… yeah, she always did have a way with her words," Minako suddenly said, smiling. "I suppose that's why grandfather always said she'd be the best representative for the family in the cabinet."

"Huh… that's a good point, Minako. You're right," Shizuka said, before turning back to the issue at hand. "All right, let's get down to business. Who feels like explaining the Astrays?"

"I'll do it," Samuel said, clearing his throat. "The mobile suits you see here are Orb's MBF-M1 Astrays. They're mass-produced models that will eventually serve as the workhorse of the Orb military. While derived from the Strike in terms of design, it lacks the Phase Shift Armor and Striker Pack technologies to cut down on the costs. However, while they are technologically superior to ZAFT's GINNs and CGUEs, these mobile suits are still nothing but toys."

Before anyone could ask Samuel what he meant, an interruption came in the form of an amber-eyed, blonde teen.

"So, now you see the true face of Orb," Cagalli said, walking towards the group. "The so-called neutral nation."

The five _Archangel_ pilots noticed a distinctive red mark on the girl's cheek – well, everyone did. It was nearly impossible to miss. Samuel chuckled.

"It appears that the stubborn little Lion Cub had a fight with the Lion of Orb again."

Cagalli scowled at Samuel, but quickly directed it to Minako when she began laughing.

"These mobile suits are to be Orb's protectors," Samuel said, ignoring Cagalli's interruption like it had never happened. "As you're all aware, Orb will not attack another nation, will not let itself be attacked by another nation, and will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations. That is our country's core belief. With the Astrays, we have the power to ensure that we can protect that belief."

"That's the kind of nation Orb is," Cagalli said. "Or rather, that's what it was supposed to be until my father betrayed it."

Samuel sighed. "Lady Cagalli, we've gone over this time and time again," he said, sounding exasperated. "You're even more stubborn than your father. Not even he can knock some sense into you. You know that isn't true. Lord Uzumi never knew about the mobile suits being constructed at Heliopolis–"

"Shut up!" Cagalli shouted, her temper flaring once again. "That's not an acceptable excuse! He was the Chief Representative! Not knowing about it is a crime as well!"

"Which is why he stepped down as Chief Representative of Orb, handing the position to your uncle," Samuel replied evenly.

"Like that changed anything…" Cagalli muttered darkly, a scowl still etched on her features.

"You just don't get it do you," Samuel said. "Orb _needs_ Lord Uzumi right now. Ever since this war started, Orb has been in a difficult position. Because of Kaguya and Morgenroete, both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance have pressured us into taking their side in the war. A weaker leader would have submitted to one of the sides by now, dragging Orb into the war and turning it into yet another battlefield. Lord Uzumi has held firm to Orb's beliefs and taken the path that stays true to our principles."

"Lady Serenity is just as capable as my father, if not more so!" Cagalli yelled.

Minako finally stepped in. "Now you're just trying to find something to anchor your belief that Lord Uzumi is corrupt," she said. "My cousins and I have said it time and time again… and I think I'm going to say it one more time: Lord Uzumi should have put more time into teaching you about politics. Aunt Serenity has no interest in leading Orb – I've asked her myself. Now, if you don't want your father to lead Orb, then who would you want in charge: the spineless Seirans, or the _real_ traitors, the Sahaku?" Minako smiled slightly. "It seems like a painfully obvious choice to me that Lord Uzumi is still our best choice for leading Orb."

Cagalli sputtered, flushing in embarrassment. The others held back chuckles, but still let amused smiles cross their faces as Samuel turned and began walking.

"Come," he said. "There's a lot of work to be done, so let's leave this stubborn, foolish little girl." Cagalli let out a growl, but ultimately followed the group out of the hangar. After going down a few corridors in the labyrinth that was Morgenroete, they arrived in the control room for the Mobile Suit Testing Chamber. A large viewing window at the front of the room showed the chamber itself, where three Astrays were awaiting the signal.

"General Dante, Minako, Aunt Shizuka," a young teenage girl greeted as the group approached the viewing window. She had long, light brown hair that fell to her knees, and her crystal-like eyes were a deep sapphire blue. She was dressed in a custom-made uniform resembling the attire of Shinto shrine maidens, though still looked enough like a uniform to be respectable workplace attire.

She turned to the _Archangel_ pilots and smiled. "I'm Miyuki Inoue," she greeted. "It's a pleasure. I'm the instructor for the Astray test pilots."

Minako leaned over to whisper in Kira's ear. "Don't worry about the attire. Miyuki's a lover of Shinto culture," she whispered. "Sometimes we all wonder if she's actually a fanatic."

Kira struggled to keep a straight face as Erica picked up a headset and put it on.

"Asagi, Juri, Mayura, begin your drills," she said.

"Roger!" the three girls replied as they activated their mobile suits and proceeded to move through their drills. The five _Archangel_ pilots simply stared in utter horror at the painfully slow and painfully pathetic movements. It was like they were moving underwater, and it raised the rather amusing question of whether they could actually move at all if they _were_ ever dumped into an underwater situation.

Cagalli sighed. "They haven't changed…" she said. "They're still just as slow."

"Hey! I don't see you doing any better!" Miyuki suddenly shot back. "Besides, they're twice as fast as before! I'd say that's an improvement!"

"Still, you've now seen why General Dante said the Astrays are nothing but toys," Shizuka said. "We have the technology, yes… but the OS hasn't caught up to it. Our goal is to allow the Astrays to operate on a similar level to the Strike, even if it's piloted by Naturals. But… well, you've seen what we've been able to do so far."

"Ah, I see…" Mu said. "So this is why you needed the kids… because they were able to rewrite the systems on their own machines, right?"

"Exactly," Erica said as she turned to the three Gundam pilots. "Please, we need your assistance on this matter."

"We don't have a lot of Coordinators in our military," Minako said. "Miyuki and I are perfectly capable pilots, as are my two cousins… but we can't be expected to turn the tide of a battle should Orb ever find itself in one."

"That's right," Miyuki added. "We'll help you out as much as we can, but we're still counting on your expertise to get it done."

Kira nodded. "Okay, let's get started, then."

* * *

Shores of Onogoro Island, Orb Union

March 28, C.E. 71

A pair of fishermen waited on some rocks on the shore, watching the waves as they crashed against the rocks. After a few minutes of waiting, a group of scuba divers emerged from the waters and waded up to dry land. The lead diver pulled off his mask.

"Athrun Zala, of the Le Creuset Team," he said, introducing himself. The fisherman smiled.

"Welcome to the Land of Peace," the ZAFT spy replied.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, another Phase down… and by the goddess, I am absolutely trembling with excitement. The moment of truth is so near I can already see it coming.**

**Now, first of all… yes, I've borrowed the Taiyonoha from ****Maileesaeya****'s Divinity Saga as well as my own take on Miyuki Inoue from **_**Dark Angel of Freedom**_**, but trust me when I say that their roles in my story will be absolutely and completely justified. I just wish you'd all continue to give this story the chance to develop instead of brushing it off simply because I borrowed another person's characters.**

**As for the chapter itself, well… we've now reached the point where everything begins to come together for that explosive clash in the Marshall Islands. But, that's getting ahead of myself, because there are still yet questions I've left unanswered. Now, the transformation in Leon's irises during certain situations is still one of the many mysteries surrounding his enigmatic persona… and now I've decided to even add in yet more questions with his cryptic words near this chapter's beginning. And who is this mysterious girl who seemingly has a sixth sense for the SEED? Hmm… too many questions, too few answers…**

**Well, some answers are going to start coming very, very soon, so you can expect some revelations starting next chapter, where fated encounters will set the stage for the coming Phases, most especially after the Fall of the Strike. I hope you'll all look forward to that, because I know I am!**

**Once again, I implore each and every one of you to leave reviews! PLEASE! It's not my nature to beseech, but… still, I must! PLEASE LEAVE YOUR REVIEWS!**

**Until the next chapter… ja ne! ^_^**

**Additional note: Special Thanks to ****Maileesaeya**** for providing her thoughts and inputs, serving as this chapter's beta. I appreciate it, Saeya-chan! ^_^**


	16. Phase 16: Fated Encounters

**Gah! Finally! I managed to churn this chapter out! YEEEESSSSSS!**

**Now… NOW we can get to the **_**really**_** fun stuff in this story – the true point where I diverge from my story's predecessors. Let me tell you… there are some things you won't see coming… and there are some things you probably might not have expected. But, let me tell you that everything's just about to get exciting.**

**This chapter was also fairly ambitious, and it leaves quite a bit of foreshadowing… some explanations about some characters… and teasing. Oh, yes. Quite a bit of teasing.**

**Special Thanks to Maileesaeya for once again serving as my critic and for all the help and insights she's given me. Domo arigatō, Saeya-chan!**

**Anyways, I won't bore you to death up here… though I will ask now: Please leave reviews after you're done reading the chapter! PLEASE! I beg of you readers! Have a heart!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Taiyonoha, all of whom are the intellectual property of my friend Maileesaeya. Aside from that, previous disclaimers still apply.**

* * *

Phase Sixteen: Fated Encounters

March 25, C.E. 71

* * *

Orb Union, Onogoro Island

Morgenroete

"You wanted to see me about something, Johanna?" Erica asked as she entered the room that served as the main office of Morgenroete R & D. Shizuka was still in the Testing Chamber along with Miyuki and Minako, the three having assured her that they'd assist the Earth Forces pilots with anything they might need in designing the Natural-use OS for the M1 Astrays.

"Yes, I did," Johanna said, motioning towards her computer. "You absolutely have to see what's on the disk Mr. Alaric gave us."

"Well, if you think it's that important, I won't keep you waiting," Erica said as she walked over to stand behind Johanna's chair. "So, what did our ex-ZAFT commander come up with?"

Johanna smiled. "The more boring stuff consists of some useful upgrades for the first generation machines, particularly the Strike, Raven, and Guardian, though there are a few ideas for the unlikely event that we can acquire the ones that were stolen," she replied. "But he's also come up with blueprints for a couple of new Striker packs, and even some base design concepts that we could use in some of our new prototype units."

"Let's see now…" Erica said, leaning over and studying the screen intently. "Hmm… they're mostly variations of the Strike's standard equipment sets… though I still have to admit that they can further develop the Strike's multi-role design. These are all quite interesting, and his mobile suit designs have certainly got my attention. I have to say that Mr. Alaric's given us some pretty impressive design concepts."

"They're a little rough, though, and we'll need to have an expert look them over and hammer them out before we can start producing the prototypes…" Johanna said. "Aside from that, we can build those Striker Packs, and those new machines he's proposed will go along quite nicely with the one we already have planned, won't they?"

"Yes, you're right," Erica replied. "But the _Archangel_ will be long gone before we'll be able to finish any of them."

"That's true. You have a point there…" Johanna admitted. "Still, we can use the Striker Pack blueprints for developing specialized Astray variants, or even our next generation of mobile suits… and some of these design concepts could certainly work with the Tsurugi. Plus, we can use the combat data from the _Archangel_ in developing these new machines."

"If these get approved, you mean," Erica admonished. "The Dantes may be old friends with the Taiyonoha, but Lady Serenity is still more likely to trust in her sister's opinion over yours, and she still has a great deal of influence here in Morgenroete."

"That just makes me think it more likely that Lady Serenity will give her approval," Johanna replied, smiling slightly. "The Seirans and their supporters wouldn't like it, which is plenty motivation for her right there. With the Taiyonoha having adopted the Minamoto's belief in being prepared for _anything_, there's almost no doubt that these things will be approved for pre-production in short order."

* * *

Onogoro Island, Le Creuset Team Camp

March 28, C.E. 71

Leon sighed as he zipped up his silver-white coat, the exact same coat he'd worn in Banadiya a little more than a month ago. Memories of his encounter with Kira – of their mutual respect and admission that, had things been different, they could have ended up as friends – surfaced. It was bittersweet, Leon realized, and yet another source for the constant conflict that had been plaguing him more and more often as the war dragged on.

Trying to push aside all the negativity, Leon turned and absently watched the rest of the Le Creuset Team getting ready for their first attempt at locating the legged ship. The temporary team leader glanced at a pile of packages off to the side of their makeshift base. While they'd each brought their own sets of gear for the mission and enough sets of clothing that they could blend into _any_ establishment they needed to enter, their contact inside Orb had also provided them with falsified ID cards and smuggled Morgenroete uniforms in the likely, but unfavorable, event that they'd need to try and infiltrate the heart of Orb's military might.

Eventually, Leon decided it was time to get going, and clapped his hands to get the rest of the team's attention.

"All right, everyone, listen up!" the golden-brown-haired Redcoat said as the team gathered around him. "You all know what our goal is. We need to find some info or evidence that the legged ship is hiding here. Now, I don't expect us to find the legged ship on our first day, nor do I expect you to think about the mission at all times without wearing yourselves out."

Leon looked at each member of his team. "As mission commander, the well-being of my team is still my top priority. In that sense, I'm actually a lot more lenient than _some_ of you might think. So… if you ever feel the need for it, you don't even need to bother me about it. Just go ahead and take some time-off so you can relax and unwind for a bit."

Dearka, Saul, and Nicol smiled appreciatively at that, while Yzak's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Athrun nodded his approval, while Tomoyo's expression was simply unreadable.

"Okay, if there are no concerns, then I'll be handing out the team assignments," Leon said, turning to Yzak. "Yzak, Dearka, and Saul, you're Team 1." The three pilots nodded, before Leon turned to Athrun. "Athrun and Nicol, you'll be Team 2." With that, Leon motioned towards Tomoyo. "Tomoyo and I will be Team 3." The silver-gray-haired girl remained quiet, her only reply a nod.

"All right, anything else?" Leon asked. When no one spoke up, he nodded. "Good. You all know our targets, so I'm leaving all your activities up to you. Don't take any unnecessary risks if you don't have to, and, by the goddess, _please do not_ try to sneak into Morgenroete until we've exhausted all other options." He gave them all another once-over, and nodded. "All right, you're on your own now. We meet again at 1500."

With that, the Le Creuset Team dispersed. Yzak's team wasted no time, leaving right away. Athrun, Nicol and Tomoyo went about their business, making some final preparations. Leon, on the other hand, went up to a crate, shifting it over to use as a makeshift chair. He sat heavily on it and buried his head in his hands, running his fingers through his golden-brown hair. Athrun had been about to leave when he noticed Leon's apparent distress. He motioned over at Nicol, telling him to wait, before walking over to his teammate and friend.

"Something up?" Athrun asked. Leon shook his head, not bothering to speak. It was a few moments before words found their way from the golden-brown-haired Redcoat.

"No…" Leon said quietly. "It's just… it had to be Orb, of all places. I never expected to be carrying out a mission _here_."

Athrun frowned. "Yeah… I think I know how you feel… It's just like Heliopolis," he replied. "Still, we have to do what we have to, don't we?"

Leon nodded, before giving Athrun a bitter little smile. "By the way, I met him…" he said. "I met your friend, Kira Yamato." The news shocked Athrun, his eyes and expression clearly betraying his surprise.

"Leon, you… _you met Kira_…?" the ultramarine-haired Coordinator asked urgently. When Leon nodded, Athrun sucked in a breath. "When…? Where…?"

"In Banadiya… while Tomoyo and I were with the Waltfeld Team," he replied. "He asked me to pass a message to you when I got the chance."

A message…? Athrun hesitated, but this was Leon… and it was Kira. This was something he should know… it was something he _had_ to know. "What… did he say?"

"He said that he wanted to meet with you again after this war comes to an end…" Leon replied softly. "He still considers you his friend, you know… even after you've crossed blades so many times, and even after you've tried to kill each other."

"Yeah…" Athrun said just as softly, before his lips curved upwards in a smile that mirrored Leon's. "Damn it… Kira hasn't changed at all… he's still the same guy he always was…"

Leon's smile disappeared as he stood. "Yeah… it's hard when you know the person you eventually might have to kill…" he said, turning to Athrun one more time. "Listen, Athrun. Don't lose sight of what you're fighting for."

As he walked away, Leon looked down. "Please… don't lose sight of it the way I did…" he said. "Don't make that mistake and end up doing something you'll regret…"

* * *

The _Archangel_

Chris whistled cheerfully to himself as he walked down the _Archangel_'s corridors. He was in a far better mood today than in recent memory, and there wasn't really any reason to blame him. He'd gotten to see his grandfather again, which was a big boost to his morale in and of itself. Also, things in Morgenroete were progressing smoothly. They were making excellent progress with the OS, given that they were dissecting and rewriting nearly everything they came across as they progressed, though he and Kira were doing most of the work. Liz wasn't as good as them in this sort of thing, but she stubbornly plowed on with anything she was working on. Minako herself was quite tech savvy, and was quite a big help to them as work progressed.

Today was the day when they'd be putting the finishing touches on the OS before having it proceed through a test run. While it would still need a couple of revisions and require personalization by each Astray's pilot, the basic system was complete, making the Astrays Natural-operable. As a bit of thanks for their hard work, they'd been told to take a couple of days off, something which they'd all been eager to do. Chris smiled, remembering that Sai, Tolle and Miriallia had gone to visit their parents, while Liz had opted to spend the afternoon with their grandfather. Minako had gone off, saying that she was going to spend a bit of time with her cousins, while Kira had pretty much vanished, leaving Chris all on his lonesome to relax.

As Chris continued walking, he noticed a single open door. His curiosity getting the better of him, he slowed to a stop and glanced in, blinking in surprise when he saw Flay sitting on her bunk, staring off into space.

"Flay?" Chris asked, stepping inside the room. "What are you still doing here? Why aren't you with the others? I thought your parents had a house in Orb?"

"Yes… they did…" Flay replied, her tone clearly revealing her depressed, somber mood. "They _did_ have a house… but no one's living there now." She looked up, allowing Chris to see the barely contained tears in her eyes. "My mother died when I was still a little girl…"

Chris blinked, before cursing his thoughtlessness and stupidity. "Oh, Flay…" he said, grabbing her in a hug. "I… I'm sorry…" What a thing to say in a situation like that… he had to make it up somehow… and then an idea struck him.

"My grandfather's taking my sister and I out for dinner the day after tomorrow," he said. "We're all pretty busy with the work for Morgenroete, so that day would be a good time for us to finally sit down and spend some quality time together. Why don't you come with us then?"

Flay shook her head. "No, it's fine…" she replied quickly. "I… wouldn't want to be a third wheel."

"Trust me, you won't be," Chris said with a smile. "My grandfather practically insisted that we take Kira with us… I'm sure he'd love to have you around as well. He also said some close family friends would be there as well, so it's a good chance to get to know some people here. C'mon, Flay. It's about time you let yourself relax and take a break from all of this."

Flay remained quiet for a moment, chewing her lip hesitantly, before she nodded.

"Alright," she said at last. "I'll accompany you."

* * *

Streets of Onogoro

Citizens of Orb walked down the city streets, minding their own business and blissfully unaware of the fact that the members of the Le Creuset Team were walking amongst them. In particular, Athrun, Yzak, Dearka, Nicol and Saul were currently in one of Onogoro's biggest and best shopping districts. Every which way the five pilots turned, shop upon shop upon shop was open, readily admitting customers and patrons and offering their goods at fair prices.

Athrun smiled slightly as he saw the looks in his teammates' eyes. "Well, Leon _did_ say we could take some time to relax a bit…" he said. "Okay, I suppose we can stop for now and enjoy the sights."

Dearka grinned. "Ah, yes… am I glad Athrun and Leon are in charge…" the blonde Coordinator said. "Imagine if Yzak or Zane were in charge… we'd be driven half to death before we're given a break!"

"Hey! I would not work my subordinates until they dropped!" Yzak shot back, before he sighed as he ran a hand through his silver hair. "Besides, I suppose we really have earned ourselves a little break. I'll go along with the idea."

The other four pilots all turned identical, questioning gazes on Yzak, looking at him as if he'd suddenly grown another head.

"Guys… did I hear that right…?" Saul asked as he blinked, unable to believe what he _thought_ he'd just heard from Yzak.

Nicol nodded once, slowly. "If you think you're going crazy, I think I'm going to go join you in that," he said. "Never thought Yzak knew how to take a break."

Yzak narrowed his eyes. "Hey, I _am_ still human, you know!" he said. "Even Coordinators have their limits!"

Dearka's own briefly shocked expression gave way to a grin that looked ready to split his face. "Hey, who cares whether you're hallucinating or not?" he asked. "If this is all just a dream where we're imagining that Yzak's not as uptight, then I plan to take full advantage of it!"

Athrun, Nicol, and Saul shared a good laugh at Yzak's expense as they dispersed, walking off on their own and exploring to their heart's content. The silver-haired Redcoat's expression soured as he looked around, but a certain souvenir and antiquities shop caught his eye. He unconsciously found himself walking towards the shop, intrigued by it.

A few moments later, Yzak found himself browsing through the shop's mythology-centered merchandise, a considerably lighter expression gracing his features. After a few minutes, he eventually found something that caught his eye – several pink-colored pendants delicately placed on a tray next to the counter, as well as another tray stacked with several red charms.

Yzak raised an eyebrow as he read the signs next to the trays. "Good luck charms… I see… and these are Haumea pendants…" he said thoughtfully, before nodding to himself. He picked out seven pendants and seven charms and went over the counter, placing them on the tabletop. A young woman standing next to him giggled slightly, prompting Yzak to shoot her an annoyed look.

"What is it?" he asked. "Is there something wrong with what I want to purchase?" He took a good look at the person standing next to him, and tried to keep his surprise from his face. The smiling girl in front of him was a blonde-haired young woman who he estimated was around half a year to a year older than he was. While she was definitely pretty, to say the least, Yzak felt a chill when his eyes locked with the blonde's unique mismatched red and green irises. There was something about them… something that said there was more to her than what you would give her credit for.

"Gomen, gomen," she said, leaning on the counter and drumming the tabletop slightly with her fingers, before she caught herself and reverted back to the trade language. "Sorry. It's just that those pendants are Haumea pendants. It's said that whoever you give those pendants to will be blessed with the protection of Haumea." The young woman's smile grew warm. "Perhaps you were thinking of some friends when you picked these items out?"

A few minutes later, Yzak exited the shop, a small bag in his left hand. He looked around, shrugged, and decided on a random direction. Yzak walked around rather aimlessly, distracted by the heterochromic blonde's words repeating themselves in his head.

"_Perhaps you were thinking about some friends?"_ she had said.

Yzak sighed. "Friends… yeah… I think that sounds right…" he said, smirking to himself as he turned a corner.

* * *

Cat's Eye Café

Tomoyo watched as Leon took a sip from a cup, a contented expression adorning his features as he did so. She glanced at the cup and pot Leon had in front of him, looked at the golden-brown-haired teen again, took one more look at the cup, and decided to voice the question on her mind.

"Whatever happened to that sweetened lemon tea you claimed to like so much?" she asked, a slight smile on her face. The corner of Leon's lips rose in a miniscule smile, before he laughed lightly, no trace of the golden-brown-haired teen's humorless ice or sharp-tongued sarcasm for the first time since Tomoyo had met him.

The silver-gray-haired girl relished in the sound of the golden-brown-haired teen's light-hearted laughter. He rarely ever showed any emotions like this – he was always the controlled one, never letting his mask drop. But this was the one time she'd actually seen Leon at ease… home did wonders for you, indeed.

"Well, I definitely like it, yes… but it's only something you can appreciate if you're eating something," he replied. "On the subject of sweetened tea… I suppose I have to say that the blends they serve here are unique to the Cat's Eye. They serve many of my personal favorites… But they still pale in comparison to their homemade hot chocolate. Without a doubt, it is the _best_. Believe me when I say that their recipe here is something you _have_ to try once in your life. I could go on and on about it, really… but you have to drink it to believe it."

"You…" Tomoyo said before bursting out laughing. "What am I going to do with you? You sound ridiculous!"

Leon grinned. "That's right, Tomoyo," he said, playing along. "Your beloved, ice-cold Leon Vanyel actually enjoys drinking this stuff. While I don't mind the little jab against me, I'm not going to let it go unanswered."

"Oh? And what could you possibly do, Leon?" the silver-gray-haired girl replied, smirking. However, Leon's own mischievous grin made Tomoyo's smirk falter, and she began to question just what her teammate was planning.

"It's simple, Tomoyo," Leon replied. "I'm just going to have to _convince_ you that it's worth all the praise and adoration I give it." With that, Leon took his cup, poured some of the chocolate into it, and slid it across the table. "Go on, Tomoyo. Or would you rather concede defeat?"

Tomoyo looked at the cup, glancing up at Leon's expectant gaze before looking at the cup once more. She narrowed her eyes as she took the cup in her hands.

"There is no way I'm going to concede defeat, Leon…" she replied as she took a sip. She almost made an appreciative noise, but stopped herself – she would _not_ let him have the satisfaction of victory. She took another sip and put the cup down, giving a thoughtful look. Yes, he was right… it really was something else – the texture, the flavor, everything was just at this perfect, heavenly level of balance that Tomoyo understood why Leon seemed… almost addicted to it.

'_No!'_ she thought, shaking her head for a few moments. _'You're thinking _exactly _the way he wants you to!'_

'_That's the least of your concerns, Tomoyo. You just drank from the same cup as him. You two basically just shared an indirect kiss.'_

That sudden, single statement from her inner voice instantly made Tomoyo blush a dozen shades of red.

She'd… damn it, she hadn't thought of that!

Leon blinked at Tomoyo's sudden change in expression, immediately curious as to the reasons behind the girl's furious blush, before he gave a small smile.

"You have some interesting reactions to a cup of hot chocolate, you know that?" Leon said, jolting Tomoyo out of her stupor. "Very interesting. Or maybe…" At this, his smile turned to a wicked grin. "Maybe there's something else that's causing it?"

"N-no, it was… I mean, you… it's…" Tomoyo stammered, steadily growing redder.

Leon smirked. "It's what? Good? I'm what? Right?" he asked, his amusement growing with each passing second. "Just what are you trying to say?"

Tomoyo tried, and failed, to shoot Leon a glare, the desired impact completely ruined as her blush grew ever deeper. "You… you…"

The silver-gray-haired girl locked gazes with her golden-brown-haired friend, trying in vain to salvage some measure of her pride. However, Tomoyo knew that Leon had her beaten this time, and she slumped in defeat.

"You're right…" she whispered, wishing she could just melt under her own body heat. "It was _excellent_…"

"That's what I thought," Leon said, amusement dancing in his crystal blue eyes as he leaned forward and teasingly tapped Tomoyo on the nose. "It looks like I win again, my dear Tomoyo."

Tomoyo, her face still flushed in a way that made her look ridiculously cute, gave a slight smile in return.

'_Well… you're definitely something else, Tomoyo…'_ Leon thought, a content little smile gracing his features as he leaned back. _'Heh… I suppose this emotion… can be described as 'interested'…?'_

* * *

Morgenroete

March 30, C.E. 71

"All right, Asagi, Juri, Mayura," Miyuki said, the headset she wore broadcasting her words to the three Astray test pilots. "Kira's uploaded the Natural-use OS into the Astrays' computers, so we're going to give it a test and see how well it works."

"_Roger that!"_ the three pilots replied in unison. Miyuki looked over at Kira, who nodded from the main computer terminal in the observation room. Aside from the two, Shizuka, Erica, and Johanna were present for the test run, as were Mu, John, and Minako.

Miyuki, acting as if the small crowd behind Kira was nonexistent, nodded in return and looked back at the viewing window. "All right. Commence drills!"

The Astray pilots complied, starting with simple movements that possessed all the fluidity and grace that they had lacked before Kira's technical intervention. Seeing the vastly improved performance compared to their past drills, the three M1 pilots felt their confidence grow as their speed and precision continued to pick up, even as they proceeded to more advanced, more complicated maneuvers, culminating in Asagi leaping back before dashing full speed at the observation window. A collision looked imminent, and a few faces betrayed their tension, but both Kira and Miyuki let out grins as Asagi stopped mere inches from the window, leaping up and somersaulting back into the middle of the chamber.

"_Whoa…"_ Asagi said breathlessly, unable to believe what they'd all just pulled off. _"That was…"_

Mayura nodded from inside her Astray. _"I never dreamed we could move like that…"_

"_This is…"_ Juri whispered, feeling much the same way her teammates felt.

Miyuki beamed as she spoke into her headset. "Well done, girls," she said. "Very, very well done. You made me proud today."

As the three girls cheered and celebrated, Shizuka came over and placed a hand on Kira's shoulder.

"Thank you, Kira… for all your hard work," she said. "It looks like the Natural-use OS is a complete success, if that test run is anything to go by."

Kira shook his head. "No, uh… it was nothing, really…" he said, embarrassed at the praise. Minako came up and slung an arm over Kira's shoulder.

"Such modesty, Kira!" she teased, a slight smile gracing her features. "You should accept the praise – you made it all happen, after all!"

Kira shook his head. "I wasn't the only one who worked on it – Chris and Liz worked just as hard as I did on this," he replied softly. "I couldn't have done it alone… it was a success because we all worked on it."

Minako sighed before offering up a slight smile. "Well, I suppose that's just who you are," she said lightly, a trace of humor in her voice. "Too humble to accept praise when it's offered to him."

Towards the back of the room, Mu grinned. "Damn, if I didn't know anything beforehand, I'd have thought the kid was some crazy genius…" he said. John shook his head in reply.

"No, you still think Kira's some crazy genius," he replied, slight amusement accompanying his words as he watched Minako and Miyuki talk with the brunet in question. "What you see before you only serves to reinforce your thoughts on the matter."

Mu thought it over for a moment before chuckling. "Well… you're right about that," he replied. "The kid's a miracle worker, plain and simple."

* * *

Outside Morgenroete

The members of the Zala Team who had infiltrated Orb were gathered outside Morgenroete. While they had expected the lack of results in their search, it was still rather disheartening to know that three days' worth of efforts had turned up fruitless.

"Not even an ant could sneak in there…" Yzak said, shaking his head in slight amazement as he looked at the Morgenroete facilities. "The security here's even tighter than at the naval base."

"I wouldn't expect any less…" Tomoyo said quietly. "Morgenroete is the heart of Orb's military might. They'd protect it more than any military base under their control."

Yzak sighed. "I know, Asahara… still, it has me at a loss," he said in a rather subdued tone. "In the city, you're free to go wherever you want… but within Morgenroete and the army facilities, security is insanely tight…"

Athrun nodded, before turning to their resident hacker, who was working on the laptop he'd brought with him from the _Cousteau_. "Saul, any luck hacking into Morgenroete's system?"

Saul shrugged as he continued typing. "It's multi-layered," he replied. "I'm about to break the first layer… I should be able to get a better assessment once I do. But I'm pretty sure I can crack this. I'll just need some time, and the proper equipment to do it."

"It might just be easier to capture someone and use them to infiltrate the facility," Athrun said thoughtfully.

Nicol nodded. "Like a wolf in sheep's clothing," he said in agreement.

"I don't know about that," Leon replied. "That could actually prove to be even more dangerous and difficult. We'd risk blowing our cover if we used someone not affiliated with ZAFT unless we forced them to work with us through coercion. That sort of thing doesn't sit well with me."

"All right… I'm through," Saul said, before he suddenly stopped typing. "And… ah, shit."

"What is it?" Yzak asked.

"The first layer was hard enough," Saul replied. "The thing is, it's nothing compared to what it's hiding underneath. This… I've seen this security program before."

"Where?" Athrun asked.

"It was just before I was assigned to the Le Creuset Team with the rest of you," Saul replied, frowning. "My father had vouched for my skills as a hacker, so I was asked to assist with cracking a security program that was attached as a defense system for a tiny chunk of data from an R&D facility on the L4 Mendel colony. We haven't cracked it, so we _still_ don't know what's in it. It's a multi-faceted, multi-layered, hyper-sensitive counteroffensive program. Stroking the keyboard the wrong way can set off warning alarms throughout the entire facility and the program, and set it on the attack. Even if three of us went in, with one person using the other two as cover, we still wouldn't get in without getting caught in the first minute of hacking. The system here is identical to what I've just described… just on a grander, more up-to-date scale."

Saul thought he might have been exaggerating a bit, but he knew it got the point across. Good as he was at hacking, he wasn't getting into this system.

"What in the world would need that kind of security?" Dearka asked incredulously.

Leon shook his head. "It's something that would be better off left untouched," he said quietly. "A secret so dark… that the people who found it decided that they'd do _anything_ to keep it a secret. They were certainly desperate enough to install a system like that to make sure that no one ever finds out…"

Athrun sighed. "Well, it's getting late," he said, looking up at the late afternoon sky. "We'll just have to continue our search tomorrow."

"Right…" Leon said. "We can't wear ourselves out just yet. I've received a message from our contacts – they've managed to book us some lodgings at a respectable hotel, so at least we won't be sleeping on hard rock. Remember, we're going to be doing this for several days, so we need to rest and get some relaxation when we can. I don't want to have to resort to infiltrating Morgenroete until and unless we don't have any other options left… and I most especially don't want to do it if we're not at one-hundred percent."

"As long as there's an alternative to sneaking into Morgenroete, we should take a chance on it," Tomoyo said, sighing as she stood from the bench. "If we mess up an infiltration, we're not going to be able to do anything else… well, assuming that we get out alive, that is."

* * *

That night

Silver Dawn Hotel Lobby

Kira felt decidedly out of place right now… here he was, standing in the lobby of the Silver Dawn, one of the biggest, most luxurious hotels in the world. Samuel, accompanied by Chris, had dropped by Morgenroete a few minutes after the OS test run to pick him up before taking him to a tailor to get him something more suitable to the ambiance and atmosphere of the Silver Dawn.

The brunet tugged at the sleeve of the pristine white suit they'd picked out for him, his discomfort at wearing the jacket, black shirt, and amethyst-colored tie rather evident. Beside him, Chris showed a similar situation, pulling a bit on the collar of his deep blue shirt, attempting to loosen up his light gray tie to allow him to breathe comfortably. The two gave each other discreet looks and nodded to each other understandingly – they shared similar sentiments, after all.

Samuel gave the pair a knowing smile, having noticed and understood the gestures. "I used to feel that way about it as well," he said. "Just don't feel too conscious, and act naturally. You'll be used to it before you know it."

The two boys sighed together as Samuel chuckled.

"I don't understand why it had to be here, Grandpa…" Chris said. "If you wanted to take us out, it could have been somewhere where I _didn't_ have to wear something like this…"

Samuel smiled. "Well, it wasn't my choice, Chris," the aging General replied. "Someone invited us out, and I accepted the invitation in good grace. That boutique we went to earlier this afternoon is owned by them… you're renting that suit free of charge. Not only that, but they're also one of the majority holders of the Silver Dawn."

Kira and Chris blinked in surprise. The implication of those statements was clear: whoever was inviting them was _filthy rich_.

"Ah! There you are!" a familiar voice called out, prompting Kira and Chris to turn in surprise. The pair saw Minako Rei Arata walking over to them, her features lighting up with a friendly smile. She was clad in a long white dress that left her shoulders bare and teased others with a view of the very top of her cleavage. Complementing Minako's dress was a scarf colored in the same shade of blue as her eyes, giving the young woman an air of elegance and nobility that the two boys had not expected of the fun-loving and upbeat, if flirtatious, girl.

Minako nodded to herself as she looked Kira and Chris over, before a grin blossomed on her face.

"Well, well, look at you two!" she said. "You look quite dashing, if I do say so myself." Her grin turned sly. "The girls you two take to bed should consider themselves lucky!"

Kira and Chris blushed, their thoughts traveling to the individuals they held closest to their hearts.

* * *

Meanwhile, over at the lounge and dining area of the lobby, Leon Vanyel sat alone at the bar, clad in a very stylishly cut silver suit, a dark gray vest, a black dress shirt and a deep royal blue tie. He let a slight smile cross his lips as he took a sip from a tall glass, his gaze on Kira and the black-haired teen he was speaking with before it moved and focused on Minako. Even after four years… he recognized her like he'd just seen her yesterday… He gave a melancholic smile as it occurred to him that he'd just recognized a dear friend who might one day become his enemy…

He quickly shook his head. _'No… I'd die before I have to fight them…'_ he thought, before sighing. _'Okay, that's enough… now's not the time for thoughts like those… I'm not Leon Vanyel, ZAFT Redcoat of the Le Creuset Team… I'm simply Leon, a teen who's here to relax and enjoy the night after a hard day of work.'_ Leon absently let his disinterested gaze settle on the glass before him, his ears picking up the noise of the soft, soothing music that filled the otherwise empty lounge. It was just the kind of civilian life that Leon thought everyone should be able to enjoy.

'_There's nothing to be proud of… when going to war…'_ he told himself, frowning slightly before a sudden, highly familiar presence flashed across his sixth sense. He quickly schooled his features, putting on a light, amiable expression as he glanced out of the corner of his eye, seeing a young woman take the seat next to him.

"Punch, please," she said pleasantly when the bartender came to take her order. "Non-alcoholic, if you don't mind." The girl's expression suddenly became surprised, and she turned to face him, giving Leon a good look at her features – features he easily recognized. She was beautiful, no doubt about it, and Leon knew she could be quite the heart-breaker. Her long red hair fell to her waist, framing angelic features and exotic, jewel-like emerald green eyes that almost invited you to lose yourself in them. She was wearing a long blue dress that left her neck and shoulders exposed, with bluish-white frills running at a diagonal from her left ankle to just above her right hip. To sum everything up in a few words, she was stunning, an exquisite treasure in human form.

"So… what's a fine man like you doing all alone tonight?" she asked, smiling slightly – almost hopefully.

Leon mirrored the girl's expression, his crystal blue eyes sparkling with amusement. "I could ask you the same thing. What's a beautiful lady like you doing all alone?"

The redhead's smile grew just a tiny bit wider, before she slid a little closer and wrapped her arms around Leon's shoulders.

"I can't believe you've come back," she said, her voice betraying her barely restrained emotions – happiness the most prevalent among them. "It's been way too long, Setsuna…"

Leon – or _Setsuna_ – feeling rather awkward at the situation, simply reciprocated the motion. "Yeah… it's been… four years, hasn't it…? I haven't seen any of you ever since then, Makoto…" he replied, smiling slightly. "Don't let anyone else know I'm here, though… 'Leon Vanyel' can't be seen socializing with the heir of the Taiyonoha House, after all."

The redhead smiled in understanding, releasing him as the bartender came back and deposited a glass filled with ice, filled it with punch from a pitcher, and set the pitcher down in front of the girl. A shared look and a nod later, the bartender had retreated to the back, shutting the door behind him to give the two some privacy. Leon shook his head, amusement dancing in his eyes as Makoto swirled the liquid for a moment before proceeding to gulp down over three-quarters of the glass.

"Heh… you're still addicted to punch, Makoto?" he said, taking a small sip from his own glass. He suddenly smiled as a thought occurred to him. "I thought you would have given up on it after _that_ incident."

Makoto's eyes widened, before she blushed scarlet. "You still remember that?" she cried, before looking down in embarrassment. "That's the one thing… the _one thing_ I hoped you'd have forgotten, Setsuna…" she added in a whisper.

Leon chuckled. "Well, it _was_ an interesting spectacle," he replied. "It's not exactly hard to remember something like that." He smiled, amusement dancing in his crystal blue eyes. "Besides, how could I forget? That was _gold_, Makoto."

"You shut up about that," the madly blushing redhead replied, venom dripping from her voice. "I do _not_ need to be reminded about that incident… and most especially not by _you_ of all people!"

The golden-brown-haired teen laughed lightly. "All right, all right, I won't talk about it if you don't want it to be talked about," he said, growing silent for a moment, and the air suddenly changed around him. Makoto saw something in his smile change with the air… almost as if all the cheer had drained itself away.

"So… how is everyone?" he asked.

Makoto smiled, mirroring Leon's own melancholy expression. "We've managed to get through things," she replied. "We had a hard time at first… Minako, Misuumi, and I… it was too different without you around. You were like a brother to us, Setsuna – no, you're _still_ a brother to us. Blood ties be damned, you and Hanako were – are – already family to us." She turned to look at Leon, her emerald eyes glittering with what the latter could only guess were the tears she'd hidden all these years.

"Heh… I'm amazed you still think that way about me," Leon replied. "But… I'm not the same person I used to be. I don't think I can ever return to being the person you once called your 'brother', Makoto. 'Setsuna'… he isn't around anymore."

The emerald-eyed redhead shook her head. "That's not true," she said. "Even if you hide behind that mask of yours… you're still the same person underneath! The name you're going by right now makes no difference, Setsuna! "

"I suppose if I dig deep enough, I'll find some traces of the person you're talking about," Leon replied. Makoto frowned, but decided not to press on that particular topic for now. It seemed that the past still tore at him and kept the wounds deep within his heart open.

"So… you were at the PLANTs this whole time, weren't you?" she asked, trying to find another approach into the enigma that was Leon's thoughts. "My mother told me all about it… though it was already three years after you'd left."

Leon sighed. "I should have known you'd eventually coax it out of Aunt Serenity," he replied. "To answer your question… Yes. To be more precise, I've been staying with Master Siegel and Lady Lacus."

Makoto smiled softly. "Lacus… it's been a while since I've seen her…" she said. "How is she?"

"Certainly better than I am," Leon replied. "At least she knows what she's doing and what she _should_ be doing… she's got a sense of purpose, and a goal to work towards. Me, on the other hand… I'm just wandering from one battlefield to the next, trying to find something to fight for." He shook his head. "What else could you expect from someone who could only be a soldier…?"

"If you're a soldier, then why don't you explain why you used to study and practice so hard when it came to your music?" Makoto replied, frowning. "Don't feign ignorance, Setsuna… I _know_ you know what I'm talking about. You still remember, don't you?"

Leon nodded slowly. "Yeah…" he replied. "I've kept in practice… but I'm not sure if my heart is still going to be in it if we ever try again."

"I'm sure it will," Makoto replied. "You loved it just like the rest of us."

"Heh… That I did," Leon said. "After Tou-san, Kaa-san, and Hanako were killed… I… I knew that I'd have to leave." Leon turned a sad smile to Makoto. "More than anything, I just wanted to stay… I didn't want to leave everyone behind. But… I suppose that in itself is all the more reason why I _did_ leave. It wasn't for my sake… but for everyone else's. I wanted to make sure that harm could not come to anyone else because of me. Nothing else really mattered, but the memories always resounded in my heart… reminding me of the promise I made."

"Setsuna…" Makoto whispered, the hints of a smile touching her lips.

"Hey… listen, Makoto…" Leon continued. "I'll have to leave again… but, believe me… I have _no_ intentions of saying good-bye." The golden-brown-haired teen fished a pair of pendants out of his pocket and held them out to Makoto. "Even after all these years… you were all still with me. Our friendship, our bonds… they still live, even now."

The redhead's eyes widened. "Those… those pendants… you…" she whispered.

"That's right," Leon replied, his crystal blue eyes shimmering in the dim light of the bar. "Even if I've lost sight of my future, I haven't forgotten about my past." He pocketed the pendants before draining the last of his drink. "But… I can't come back just yet… not until I find my answers. Not until I find something greater… something beyond all these battles that I've been fighting."

"Setsuna…" Makoto said. "Fighting for something doesn't automatically make you a soldier, nor does it make you a killer. You certainly didn't start your life as one. Don't you _dare_ give up on yourself… because none of us have given up on you." She gave her childhood friend a smile. "And remember… you can come home any time you need to… You're still part of our family, and you'll always be welcome with us. All right?"

Leon let out a short laugh. "You're the same as always…" he said, returning the redhead's smile. "Thanks, Makoto… I won't forget."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later

Silver Dawn Hotel

Top Floor, Platinum Club

Kira and Chris could not help but gawk as Samuel and Minako led them out of the elevator and into the Silver Dawn Hotel's Platinum Club, arguably _the_ most prestigious dining area in Orb. Waiting for them at the entrance to the club proper were two women. The older of the two had black hair and emerald eyes, and was clad in a conservative dress that bore an intricate design that none of the three pilots could recognize. The younger was a pretty blonde young woman just about their age, if not a year or two older, clad in a flowing white dress and matching evening gloves. Their attention, however, was very quickly drawn to her mismatched red-and-green eyes. The two boys forced themselves not to stare at her eyes, getting a chuckle out of the older of the two women.

"It appears that no one's safe from the charm of your eyes, Misuumi," she said, sharing a smile with the heterochromic blonde before turning to the three _Archangel_ pilots. "You two are Kira and Chris, I take it. I've heard a lot about you." She placed her right hand over her heart and bowed slightly in greeting. "I am Serenity Sakaeru Taiyonoha. I'm Minako's aunt… and the head of the Taiyonoha House. It's very nice to finally meet you face-to-face."

Kira and Chris blinked, putting two and two together… before their eyes widened in shock and they returned the gesture hurriedly.

Serenity laughed quietly. "There's no need to stand on ceremony with me, you two," she said. "Raise your heads. Today, you're my guests. I'm the one who extended the invitation to you, after all." Serenity turned back to where Minako had dragged the young blonde Serenity had called 'Misuumi'.

"Well, it seems that you should at least get to know everyone else who's here," she said. "Virtually the entirety of the Taiyonoha family that could make it is in attendance, as is General Dante." She gestured over to where Liz and Flay were sitting at a table, talking in quiet tones, though their hushed laughter carried all the way to the small group. "Your sister Elizabeth is over there, with Miss Allster… well, you can see for yourselves."

What followed was perhaps one of the longest meet-and-greets the two boys had ever experienced. The Taiyonoha family… was, for lack of a better term, _huge_. It started with Serenity introducing her husband, Misuumi Taiyonoha, who was… rather eccentric, to say the least. He was an accomplished martial artist – the only remaining master of the Taiyonoha family's traditional martial art style – and quickly took an interest in Chris, who had studied karate in the past.

Next on the list were Minako's parents: Naomi and Ichida Arata. Naomi, as Kira and Chris quickly found out, was Serenity Taiyonoha's younger sister, and was apparently just as cheerful as her daughter Minako. Ichida wasn't exactly your definition of a dull person, either, though it was apparent to the two teens that Minako took more after her mother than her father. Like Shizuka, the two were also highly placed in the Morgenroete hierarchy, though they were busy with other tasks when the _Archangel_ pilots had dropped by.

The heterochromic blonde who had been standing with Serenity earlier suddenly walked up to them, Minako on her heels.

"I'm Misuumi," she said, not bothering to conceal her amusement as confused expressions sprouted on the faces of the two teens. "Misuumi Hino Kamakura. My parents named me after Aunt Serenity's husband." When asked about her parents, Misuumi's eyes hardened with an icy tint as she emanated an aura that could have frozen hell. She remained tight-lipped about it, remarking with what seemed to be forced politeness that they weren't around and thus weren't in attendance.

"They're… no longer around…" Minako had told Kira and Chris once Misuumi was out of earshot. "Her parents passed away when she was still very young…" She looked at the two with pleading eyes. "Please don't bring it up. It's… a very painful topic for her – for all of us, actually."

Kira nodded slightly. "I… didn't know…" he said sadly. "I'll apologize to her the first chance I get."

"Same here," Chris said. "My own parents passed away, so I can relate… though she probably never had the chance to get to know them… not like I did…" The Raven's pilot grew quiet as he gazed off into empty space for a brief moment. Kira gave him a concerned glance, but Chris simply shook his head.

Minako nodded, smiling slightly in thanks, before she saw her Aunt Serenity approaching together with another person. She turned, and her smile grew wide as she saw just who it was accompanying her aunt.

"Mako-chan!" she cried out, intercepting Serenity's redheaded daughter and wrapping her arms around the younger girl. Makoto returned Minako's gesture, wrapping her arms tightly around the brunette.

"Really, Minako… you just saw me yesterday!" she said, an amused smile growing on her features. "You're acting like we haven't seen each other in months!"

Serenity shook her head at her niece's antics, before she noticed the surprised looks Kira and Chris sent their way. "Ah,that's right…" she said, taking Makoto's hand in her own and leading the redhead over to the pair, Minako following them. They stopped before the pair, Makoto taking a few steps forward.

"You're… Kira and Chris, yes?" she said, her voice as soft and gentle as the very slight smile she currently wore. "My name is Makoto – Makoto Michiru Taiyonoha. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." With that, she placed her right hand over her heart and gave a slight bow in greeting – the same gesture Serenity had used to greet them.

"Um… yes, that's right," Kira replied. "It's… nice to meet you, too."

Makoto's smile grew ever so slightly. "I'm sorry I was late," she said, her eyes tracking someone. "I've been looking forward to meeting you two… though I'm probably not the only one who wanted to see you."

The others noticed Makoto's gaze and followed it. As Kira gasped upon seeing who it was, Serenity smiled as Caridad and Haruma Yamato approached. "Oh, yes, I almost forgot to mention this, Kira. See, your parents are good friends of mine. You haven't seen them in a while, or so I've heard… so I took the liberty of inviting them here as well."

"W-what?" Kira asked, eyes widening. "M-my parents…?"

Chris grinned. "Go on, Kira," he said, giving his brown-haired friend a gentle shove. "You haven't seen them for some time, after all."

Kira stumbled forward, meeting his parents as he regained his balance. He nervously looked around, trying to find some way to escape the situation. He didn't want to see them… not as he was right now. Would they accept him? Or would they reject him for becoming a soldier…? He didn't know, and he didn't want to know.

"Kira… come, look at me…" a gentle voice coaxed, urging Kira to follow its quiet command as a pair of arms encircled him. The brunet looked up, finding himself in his mother's arms. Caridad Yamato smiled at him.

"Mom, I…" Kira whispered, but was hushed by Caridad.

"It's okay… I know what you're going to say…" she said. "It's okay… at least you're home safe and sound."

Kira hesitated, but finally smiled. "Thanks, mom…" he said. "I'm back…"

* * *

_White Nova_ Bar and Restaurant

"You know Yzak, I still never expected _this_ from you," Dearka said, grinning. "These good luck charms and these Haumea pendants… we've known each other for almost forever, and you never told me you were into mythology and folklore!"

Yzak scowled. "So? What's your point, Dearka?" he asked his blonde teammate.

Athrun gave a minute shake of his head as he listened to the two argue and bicker… _again_. But he could see that there was no animosity – this was just the way Dearka tried to get Yzak to loosen up, and this was just the way Yzak responded to Dearka's antics every time.

Saul smirked. "Well, Dearka does have a point, Scarface," he said, his smirk blossoming into a grin as Yzak turned a glare at him. "I never thought you cared enough to buy charms for _every one_ of us… well, minus that lunatic Scirocco, at least."

"You even bought one for Tomoyo, and that's saying something," Nicol added. "I would think you wouldn't like her… well, not after she shoots your ideas down during every strategy meeting we have."

Yzak sighed. When he spoke, the words were much calmer and softer than they expected. "Hey, just because I get humiliated by a teammate doesn't mean I want them to get killed out there," he said, a slight smile working its way onto his face. "Besides, even if she gets to me sometimes, she's never going to be as annoying as Dearka here."

"It's good to know I'm appreciated," Dearka quipped, his grin growing wider. "My efforts are finally paying off."

Athrun nodded. "Now that we're on that topic… haven't you guys noticed it yet?" he asked. "Leon and Tomoyo… I wasn't sure of it before… but I am now – they _definitely_ have feelings for each other. But the thing is… they're _both_ trying to hide it… It's as if neither side wants to make a move… or doesn't know how."

"Yeah… Athrun's right," Nicol said. "It isn't very hard to miss, actually – those two are close… _really_ close. It crossed my mind when I saw those two together for the first time. It was amazing how open and unguarded Leon was around her… he even smiled around her, and it wasn't one of those well-rehearsed, sarcastic smirks he loves to give. It was… genuine. It caught me off-guard… well, especially considering the amount of work it took us just to get Leon to open up back in the academy."

"They like each other… at the very _least_. They're trying to deny their feelings… but at the same time, they both want to act on their emotions… the thing is, they just don't know how to go about it," Saul said, smiling slightly. "Well, I'm not surprised at that, really. Leon's always been very in control regarding his emotions… and Tomoyo's even more reserved than he is. But there's no doubt that they've anchored onto each other… It's almost like they _need_ each other right now."

"We all need something to hold onto, especially during the most desperate of times," Yzak said. "Whether it's loyalty to your homeland or your love for someone dear to you… That's what it means to be true soldiers – we're here, fighting to protect that which is most important to us."

Dearka grinned. "Wow, first considerate, then sentimental, and now philosophical, too? When will the wonders ever cease?"

Yzak scowled. "Dearka!" he yelled as the rest of the group chuckled at his expense. However, he eventually grinned and laughed along with his teammates, forgetting that they were ever soldiers, even for the briefest of moments.

After they'd quieted down, a thoughtful expression suddenly crossed Nicol's face. "Hey… guys… I've just been wondering…" he said, catching the attention of the rest. "What'll you do once the war's over?"

"Well… that's an interesting question," Athrun said. "I haven't really given it much thought. I'll go last, if you don't mind."

"What about you, Nicol?" Dearka asked. "When this whole mess is over and done with, what are your plans?"

Nicol smiled. "Me? That's easy," the green-haired boy replied. "I'm going to go back to the PLANTs, finish my lessons, and become a concert pianist."

Saul chuckled. "Just make sure Athrun's not around," he said. "He'll probably sleep through it like last time." More laughter erupted from the rest of them as Athrun grinned sheepishly.

"Well, what do you plan to do, Saul?" Athrun asked.

Yzak raised an eyebrow "I hope you're going to at _least_ be productive and self-sufficient instead of being some lazy bum living off of your family."

The lazy hacker grinned. "Heh… don't worry about that," he said. "Once this war's over, I'll probably be able to find myself a good job at IDB… or maybe even here at Morgenroete. The military life just isn't the kind of life I want to live."

"That sounds _exactly_ like what I expected from you," Nicol said, laughing. He then turned to Dearka. "How about you, Dearka?"

Dearka shrugged. "Honestly… I don't know _what_ I'll do," the blonde Coordinator said. "Though I'd definitely want to start a family some day."

"Wouldn't we all…" Yzak said sarcastically.

"But, joking aside, I think I'll go and help my dad out through ZAFT… or maybe even on the Supreme Council," Dearka suddenly said. "My dad's working hard for the PLANTs… it was the reason I joined the military in the first place. So, when this is all done, I'm going to go and try to help make his job a little easier."

"Forget Yzak, _that_ is surprising," Saul said. "That sounded pretty responsible, _especially_ coming from you, Dearka."

The group then turned to their silver-haired teammate, giving him expectant expressions.

"Well…" Yzak started. "I'll stay with ZAFT for the time being… but I'm going to take my mother's place on the Supreme Council once I'm qualified. I want to help the PLANTs and all those who live in it… I want to give them the kind of life that they should have."

Dearka smirked. "That's probably the most mature thing I've ever heard from you, Yzak," the blonde Coordinator said, grinning.

"Doesn't sound like you, Scarface," Saul added. "Just how many surprises do you have waiting in there?"

Nicol chuckled, before turning to Athrun. "How about you, Athrun?" he asked, everyone else turning their attention to the ultramarine-haired Coordinator.

Athrun frowned… what _could_ he do… once this whole war was over…?

"_He said that he wanted to meet with you again after this war comes to an end… He still considers you his friend, you know… even after you've crossed blades so many times, and even after you've tried to kill each other."_

Athrun smiled. '_There we go. That's perfect.'_

He turned to his teammates. "I think I'm going to go hunt down an old friend once the war is over…" he said. "I haven't seen him for a long time… and I really miss him. When we meet, I don't want him to see me as a ZAFT soldier… but as simply myself. I owe him that much."

* * *

Two hours later

Silver Dawn Hotel

Top Floor, Platinum Club

"I still remember Chris' first karate lesson," Samuel said, everyone else paying rapt attention to his telling of some of the more… embarrassing moments in Chris' life. "He was so nervous that, when someone delivered that first little tap to the head, he started bawling like a little baby."

The rest of the group burst out laughing, trying to imagine a much younger Chris crying his eyes out and placing it next to the Chris they all knew.

"Ha, ha, ha," the boy in question said, rather annoyed. "Just so you know, I was five when that happened."

"Even then, it was still very funny," Samuel said, grinning. "In fact, I believe I still have the recording of that, if anyone wants to see it."

Chris shot up out of his seat. "Oh, no," he said. "You're not showing that to _anyone_ unless it's over my dead body!"

"Oh, come on, Chris!" Samuel said. "If anything, Miss Allster there has a right to see it!"

Misuumi Taiyonoha smiled in amusement. "I'm sure it would be quite an interesting spectacle," he said. "If anything, my daughter, nieces and I may qualify for that same right."

Chris frowned. "I'm sure everyone listening wants to see it," he replied. "Whether they get to or not is a completely different story."

"I can see why Flay might have a right to see it…" Liz said, grinning at Flay, who blushed slightly. "But why would your nieces qualify, Mr. Misuumi?"

"Well, they each began their training in martial arts at four years old," the martial arts master replied, chuckling. "However, their personal combat lessons started when they were around the same age as Chris when he started. Still, I've never seen such determined expressions on children before. It was quite remarkable. They actually reminded me of Serenity, though Naomi there could be much the same way."

"My mother?" Minako asked curiously. "I've seen Aunt Serenity when she got this certain expression on her face… but I don't recall mother ever looking like that. I mean, she's normally just cheerful."

The older Taiyonohas all exchanged amused looks among themselves, confusing the younger generation.

"Naomi doesn't show it as much as Serenity does… but she could look so viciously determined that even Misuumi would have to back down," Shizuka said. Naomi herself chuckled abashedly.

"Come on, Shizuka," she said. "I don't think I ever gave Lord Misuumi _that_ sort of expression."

"Sure you did, Naomi," Shizuka replied. "I don't think you ever realized it, but you did."

"Hmm… so long as the topic is on embarrassing moments… I have a good one. Makoto, you wouldn't happen to remember that party a few years back, would you?" Serenity asked sweetly. Makoto's eyes widened as her face paled to white in horror, before the color rushed back in just as quickly as the girl blushed the color of her hair in utter embarrassment.

"Mom… I don't think…" she said, but a poke to her side forced her to stop. She turned to find Minako smiling at her.

"Oh, come on, Mako-chan," Minako said, grin growing wider as Makoto shot her a death glare. "It's a good story to hear!"

"Yes, that it is," Serenity said. "Samuel knows about this, as do all of the Taiyonoha, but it's good enough to warrant even a second and third telling." Serenity smiled as Makoto suddenly seemed to shrink into her seat, resigned to her fate.

"In simple words, someone thought it would be amusing to go and spike the punch at the _Kusanagi_ Launch Ceremony, and it isn't the regular old stuff you can find just about anywhere," Serenity said. "What went into that punch is the kind of stuff that can get even _Coordinators_ drunk pretty quickly. My daughter here is mostly a traditionalist in terms of what she consumes, but she suffers from an overwhelming addiction to…" At this, Serenity smirked in amusement. "That's right, you guessed it: punch. She consumed over three-quarters of the bowl in question, and all without realizing that it was actually spiked. So… you can imagine Makoto, twelve years old, horrifyingly and, at the same time, amusingly intoxicated, singing and dancing in a drunken stupor, all to finish it off by grabbing a random girl and giving her a full-blown French kiss."

The poor emerald-eyed redhead's blush had been steadily growing darker and more prominent as her mother detailed the event, and she now looked ready to simply melt under her own body heat. The rest of the group – including those who had actually seen what went on – was now laughing even louder than they had been laughing at Chris. Makoto simply sat in her chair, looking down at her hands as she desperately wished she could be somewhere else… or that she could just disappear off of the face of the Earth. She just didn't know how much of this she could endure – it was just too embarrassing!

Once the rest of the group had finally begun to calm down, Samuel gave Chris and Makoto looks of sympathy. "Well… I suppose these two have endured enough…" he said. "Especially Lady Makoto." Makoto's blush returned full force, prompting some chuckles and giggles from the others. Samuel then turned to Kira and his parents. "Perhaps Mrs. Yamato might have something to share to us about young Kira over here?"

Kira gulped slightly as his mother smiled sweetly at him. He knew _exactly_ what story she was going to tell.

"Well, judging by the expression on my son's face…" Caridad started. "I think he knows which story I'm going to tell…"

The brunet sighed as his expectations were fulfilled. He could almost feel the same embarrassment Makoto had felt earlier begin to flow into him… and quickly resigned himself to a long, long night.

* * *

Several hours later

Silver Dawn Hotel

14th Floor

Leon sighed as he pulled out his room's cardkey and swiped it through the sensor, earning him a green light and admitting him entry.

'_Damn… I certainly didn't expect to meet Makoto today…_' he thought, thinking back to their conversation earlier. No, he definitely hadn't expected to meet his redheaded friend. Not here, not now… and certainly not like this. _'Heh… even after four years… that girl never changes."_ Leon took off his coat and hung it in the closet using an unused hanger. _'Sometimes I wonder if I'm really the only one that's changed… It's strange, thinking about it… Have I really changed so much…? Or is it just that Orb itself has changed so little…?'_

Leon was so distracted by his own thoughts that he did not notice the blanket-shrouded lump on the bed until he was right next to the bed… upon which he also quickly realized that it was the _only_ bed in the room.

'_What the…? Okay, this better be someone's idea of a joke…'_ he thought. _'A bad one…'_

The person beneath the blanket stirred before tossing it back. Leon blinked in surprise. "What the… how the hell did you get in here?"

Tomoyo sat up, brushing locks of her silver-gray hair out of her face. "Good to see you too, Leon," she said, smiling slightly.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Leon continued, slightly unnerved that someone who _wasn't_ supposed to be here _was_. "Why the hell is there only one bed here? There were two when I was here earlier this evening!"

Tomoyo simply gave Leon an innocent smile, but there was no mistaking the mischief in the girl's expression. "Well… Yzak, Dearka, and Saul are in one room… while Athrun and Nicol are in another," she replied. "We were only given three rooms… I think even you could come to the conclusion that we're rooming together."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "That still doesn't explain the bed," he said, feeling a headache coming along. When the hell had someone decided _that_ for him?

Tomoyo blushed. "Well… how to explain this…" she said quietly, her tone raising a few more alarm bells in Leon's head. "Listen, Leon… you… might regret hearing it…"

"I _know_ I'm going to regret hearing this," Leon said, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair. "Actually… no, forget I asked."

"Just to give you an idea…" Tomoyo said, blushing prettily. "Someone in the hotel management… thought we were… _that_… and so… they thought this would be more comfortable…"

"… _That_…?" Leon echoed, before the hidden truth dawned on him. He felt his body temperature drop and brought a hand up to his face in utter disbelief. He knew he felt embarrassed for something he had nothing to do with – he was _genuinely_ embarrassed… when was the last time he'd felt something like that?

'_Oh, hell no… someone mistook us for a _couple_?'_ he thought. _'Well… it's not a bad thing to imagine myself with Tomoyo… but you have got to be kidding me.'_

Tomoyo's blush deepened slightly as she looked down, trying in vain to hide it with her bangs.

Leon sighed. "Well… whatever the case, let's deal with it diplomatically," he said. "You can have the bed. I'll take the chair." He made to move towards the chair, but a hand shot out, taking hold of his wrist. Leon looked back, eyebrow raised, and gave Tomoyo a questioning look.

Tomoyo bit her lip. "Um… I… I wouldn't feel right if I just left you to the chair…" she said. "Why don't we split the bed between us?"

Leon lost all pretense of self-control, and spluttered. "Wh-what did you just say?" he said. "Do you realize just what it is you're suggesting?"

The silver-gray-haired girl blushed a new shade of red. "Hey, it's not exactly easy for me to offer to share the bed with you!" she replied. "I know _exactly_ what I'm suggesting, and I doubt I could survive it if someone else found us in this situation!"

Leon shook his head. "Well… so long as you're sure. I… I won't turn down your generous offer," he said, phrasing his words very, _very_ carefully. The last thing he needed was to make some smart-ass remark that would probably get him the beating of a life time from the beautiful, but deadly, girl lying down on what was supposed to be _his_ bed. "I'll… just head on over to the other side from you and lie down there."

"So I imagined," Tomoyo replied, laying back down and pulling her blanket up to her chin.

Leon sat on the edge of his side of the bed, taking his shoes off and setting them to the side. He began to unbutton his vest, but paused when he noticed that Tomoyo was watching him.

The golden-brown-haired teen raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were going to go to sleep," he said lightly, a smile beginning to tug at his lips.

"I am… but I just thought I'd ask…" she replied.

Leon's expression became curious. "Yes?"

"… Do you think you'll be warm enough tonight?" Tomoyo asked from where she lay on her side of the bed. "With just that one blanket of yours?"

Leon's features took on a thoughtful expression as he peeled out of his vest and hung it on a rack before undoing his tie and draping it over the vest. The question itself was innocent enough… but the inflection in her voice when she asked filled it with all sorts of innuendoes and invitations, prompting another amused smile from the golden-brown-haired teen.

'_Well, that's interesting…_' It was a tempting offer, he had to admit. It was an offer that others would have jumped at. Tomoyo was definitely a prime specimen of the opposite gender, with her slender body, stunning features, shining sapphire eyes and beautiful silver-gray hair. It would have been very easy to simply surrender to the invitation.

But, the offer wasn't simply that shallow. She was offering him comfort… a sanctuary from all the loneliness, fear and despair he felt. The problem with that is… what _they_ would have been doing… _he_ would have been doing for _himself_. It wouldn't have been fair to the silver-gray-haired girl. She was a close friend, at the very least. Leon was sure she was something more… but sorting his feelings out was something he did not want to rush – not with the circumstances surrounding him. To do this now… wouldn't be right.

'_She doesn't deserve that… she definitely deserves better.'_

Leon smiled once again, his expression tinged with gratitude. "Yes, Tomoyo… I think I _will_ be warm enough tonight…"

"Well, that's definitely good to hear," the silver-gray-haired girl replied, smiling back as Leon collapsed onto his side of the bed and pulled his sheets over him. "I just thought I'd ask."

Leon laughed lightly. "In that case, thanks," he replied. "Your thoughtfulness is much appreciated." He hit the light switch on the desk beside the bed, and the room went pitch black.

"Leon…?"

"Yes, Tomoyo?"

"Are you _sure_ you're going to be warm enough tonight?" the girl asked once more. Leon detected an almost hopeful tone in her voice, but he might have just been imagining it. He was sorely tempted to take her up on her offer, but…

"Yes, quite sure," he replied, a hidden part of him regretting each and every syllable. He heard Tomoyo giggle, before she settled down on her side of the bed. Leon smiled slightly to himself before closing his eyes.

However, he quickly found that sleeping was currently beyond him… not with Tomoyo right next to him on the _same bed_. Leon shifted around to look at Tomoyo, finding the girl asleep. The innocent expression on her face and the way some strands of her hair draped over her features made her look angelic… and insufferably cute.

He smiled lightly at the sight. _'Heh… asleep already…?'_ he thought, before Tomoyo suddenly opened her eyes and gave him a wicked grin. _'Oh, what the -?'_

Tomoyo quickly threw the blanket over Leon's head, surprising the golden-brown-haired teen. Unsure of what deviousness she was planning, though he was certain he didn't want to find out, Leon struggled to get the blanket off before he felt a weight land on him, pinning him to the bed. He struggled for a bit more, before realizing his 'assailant' wasn't about to let him go. Leon stopped struggling and relaxed, prompting his 'assailant' to throw the blanket back, revealing to him the situation he was currently in.

Leon's eyes widened as he realized Tomoyo was currently on top of him, giving him a mischievous grin. "Ah, Leon… just what were you thinking about right now…?"

"Tomoyo?" Leon breathed, feeling his heart beginning to beat faster and harder. _'What… is this… feeling? I wasn't like this earlier…'_

The silver-gray-haired girl leaned in close, her nose almost touching Leon's. "Well…? Mr. Vanyel?" she said, smiling slyly even as a blush dusted her cheeks a pretty pink.

Leon let a small smile cross his lips as he composed himself. "Well… I guess that I… just wanted to say I'm glad I met you," he replied.

Tomoyo smiled, placing a hand on Leon's cheek. "Oh? What's this all of a sudden?" she asked, her voice laced with amusement.

"I just felt like saying it," Leon replied, not quite sure what in the world was controlling his mouth and the words that were coming out from it. "That's all."

Tomoyo giggled. "Well, I have to say that I feel the same way you do," she said. She moved even closer to Leon, placing her mouth next to the other teen's ear. "And maybe even a bit more than that."

She suddenly pecked Leon lightly on the cheek, gave him a wink, and slid back to her side of the bed.

Leon blinked as he brought a hand up to touch the spot where Tomoyo had kissed him. "Heh, did she just… insinuate that she likes me in _that_ way?" he whispered to himself.

"I can still hear you even if you whisper things to yourself, Leon," Tomoyo said. "I didn't know you were that insecure about it."

Said golden-brown-haired teen scowled at first, but let a satisfied smile work its way onto his expression as he closed his eyes.

"… Just shut up and go to sleep, Tomoyo…"

* * *

Silver Dawn Hotel Lobby

2nd Floor

As the group began exiting the elevators, Makoto walked up next to Kira.

"Could I… borrow Kira for a few minutes?" she asked, her attention on Samuel Dante. Surprised, Kira looked to Samuel and Serenity with a questioning glance. Both of them gave him a nod, indicating that it was all right. Nodding back, Kira turned to Makoto and offered her his hand. Hesitating slightly, the redhead took Kira's hand and led him away from the group.

Kira frowned thoughtfully as he let Makoto lead him out onto the second floor of the Silver Dawn's lobby, giving him quite a view of the expansive area below.

"What do you need to talk to me about, Makoto?" Kira asked as he leaned on the rail, looking down at the massive lobby. "What's so important that you can't let anyone else hear it?"

Makoto sighed as she leaned on the rail next to the brunet. "It's… complicated," the girl started slowly, choosing her words with care. "… You see… I have this sixth sense for certain people. I'm able to sense… a sort of 'light' in people. I've sensed it in you… and in Chris, as well."

"A light…" Kira echoed. "What are you talking about?"

The redhead frowned. "Well… that's… actually the hard part to explain in all of this," she replied. "Okay, let's see… um… has there ever been a time where… everything would suddenly seem slower, or you'd seem to see everything that's happening around you just a little clearer than before?"

Now it was Kira's turn to frown. He knew _exactly_ what she was describing. How she knew was a total mystery, but it had to be relevant for her to bring it up with no one else around to hear it.

"I…" he started, but was saved by something unexpected.

"What did you expect, Athrun?" an almost annoyed voice called out. For Kira, the rest of the statement didn't matter, his ears only hearing the word _Athrun_.

'_It can't be…'_ he thought, looking down. True enough, there, standing in a cluster of teens roughly his age…

"Athrun!" Kira called out instinctively, causing the ultramarine-haired Coordinator to look up… and freeze on the spot, the only movement being his eyes widening in surprise.

"K… Kira…?" Athrun whispered as the brunet suddenly came running down the stairs, much to the surprise of his teammates.

"Uh… Athrun…?" Dearka asked. "You know that guy…?"

The ultramarine-haired Coordinator nodded. "He's the friend I mentioned earlier…" he replied. "The one I was going to go and look for after the war…"

Eyes widened as the amethyst-eyed brunet, clad in a pristine white suit, came to an uncertain halt before Athrun.

"Hey… Athrun…" he said, smiling slightly.

"It's been a while, Kira," the ultramarine-haired Coordinator replied, returning Kira's smile. "The last time we saw each other was on the moon. You never told me you moved to Orb!"

Kira, who'd unconsciously and subtly tensed up, quickly relaxed, relieved that Athrun wasn't going to reveal the truth… not now, at least, when they were on opposite sides of this war.

He suddenly glanced around at the people who were with Athrun. "Uh… some nice friends you must have here," Kira said a little nervously. "Maybe you could… introduce us?"

Athrun smiled slightly. "Ah, right…" he said, turning to his teammates. "This is my friend Kira… Kira Yamato. We've been friends since Lunar Prep School on Copernicus City, back before I moved to the PLANTs."

"And…" Athrun continued, indicating his teammates this time. "These are my friends from the PLANTs – Nicol Amalfi, Dearka Elsman, Yzak Joule, and Saul Kessel."

They all offered their own greetings in turn – Nicol gave Kira a smile, Dearka slung an arm over Yzak and grinned, Yzak simply nodded, and Saul gave a lazy wave. Kira was rather bewildered – they were, at first glance, a highly interesting group of people.

Kira nodded back, smiling lightly. "It's nice to meet you all. I hope we can all get along." He turned to Athrun. "Listen, Athrun… I can't stay and talk right now, but…"

"I know," Athrun replied, giving a short glance to his friends. They understood the hint and moved on ahead towards the elevators, leaving the two friends alone.

"Listen… Kira…" he said. "I know I can't convince you to just stop protecting your friends. Am I right?"

Kira nodded. "That's right, Athrun," he said. "As long as they need me… and as long as I can keep protecting them… I _will_. Even if it means we have to fight each other."

"I see… My mission is to destroy the Strike," Athrun said. "In the case we ever do… please, just make it out of it alive. Once everything's settled, I'll find you again, and then we can sit down and talk. All right?"

"Right… I'll hold you to that, Athrun," Kira said, taking his old friend's hand and holding it up. The ultramarine-haired Coordinator watched as a green robotic bird hopped out of Kira's jacket and onto his hand. "Just remember that we're friends… no matter what."

"I'm glad you haven't changed, Kira," the ultramarine-haired Coordinator replied, bringing his hand up closer to his face, Birdie looking at its creator with curiosity. "Take care of yourself." He held Birdie out to Kira.

Kira held his hand out. "Yeah… you too, Athrun." Birdie jumped onto Kira's waiting hand, tilting its head as it watched the two friends.

Athrun gave his old friend one last smile. "I'll see you around, Kira." With that, he went his way once again, heading for the elevators.

Up on the second floor, Makoto watched as the two friends parted ways once more, a surprised expression on her features. She'd sensed it the moment Athrun had entered the building… he was another bearer, just like Kira… just like Chris… just like Setsuna… and just like herself.

'_Athrun Zala…? You… also possess that same light…?'_ she asked herself in her mind. Her eyes suddenly flashed silver as images began flashing through her mind at a rapid pace that only she could understand.

_An amethyst jewel-like seed clashed against a green seed, the sheer power and ferocity behind their clash only increasing as the light emanating from their core grew brighter and brighter, threatening to overwhelm her senses…_

_At the last instant, a gray-green seed and a dull golden seed attempted to pull them apart… but a single, massive explosion of light blinded her to what was happening. When the light had faded… only the green seed remained, its light having gone dormant._

Makoto choked on those images. "No… Kira… and Setsuna…?" she whispered.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well… I sincerely hope this chapter was worth the wait. I've been working on this over the past few hell weeks, and I hope everyone enjoyed it.**

**As usual, I seem to have presented even more mysteries… as well as some interesting tidbits of Leon Vanyel's history. It's funny how revealing certain things about him just seems to add even more questions, doesn't it? A good deal of this chapter may have been centered around him, but, trust me… it's surely the **_**only**_** chapter in the entire damned story that will end up like that. Even with it centered on Leon and Tomoyo – though primarily the former – I still managed to give a good amount of story-time to the other characters, so I hope everything seems justified.**

**We also get another perspective on the members of the Zala Team during their conversations, as they talk about what they plan to do once the war is over… Whether they get to pursue their dreams or not is another story altogether. ^_^**

**Anyways, I won't bore you too much down here, either… so I'll ask again:**

**PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! Do leave a review! ^_^**

**Ja ne!**


	17. Phase 17: The Turning Point

**Well, well… I am making **_**GREAT**_** progress! I'm thankful that I was able to churn this one out insanely fast – certainly much faster than I've churned out some previous chapters.**

**As much as we all love character interactions and all, unfortunately, we still need to move the story along. There will be more chances for fluff later, but this story should move along so we can get to the point when everything begins to truly come together.**

**This chapter and the next pretty much set the stage for the rest of the story, so I hope you all enjoy it! There are some more hints regarding certain characters that I've placed here, and they're all fairly obvious. However, what they mean is all up to your imagination until I actually reveal what their significance is.**

**Anyways, please read on, and don't forget to leave a review when you're done! Please!**

**Disclaimer: Same as before. See previous disclaimers.**

**Special Thanks: Maileesaeya for serving as Beta for this story.**

* * *

Phase Seventeen: Turning Point

April 11, C.E. 71

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

"Under the present circumstances… our chief concern would likely be Panama," Kisaka said, clad in the uniform of a colonel in the Orb Military, the top officers of the _Archangel_ – along with John Alaric – having gathered in the bridge to listen to the latest news Kisaka had received from Orb Intelligence. "Carpentaria is buzzing with activity, and we've heard rumors that there's a massive upcoming ZAFT operation."

"How reliable would you consider this information, Colonel?" Natarle asked.

"I'm not sure," Kisaka admitted, smiling ruefully. "Orb is in a difficult position. We want intelligence, but we have to be careful about it because we do not want to a stir up a hornet's nest, either."

"But it would make sense if there was major activity at Carpenataria," John remarked, taking a sip of coffee as they studied the tactical map displayed on the main screen. "If you had a large force assembled there, you could attack one of four key locations: Kaohsiung, Panama, Alaska, and Orb. Looking at the current situation, ZAFT already has Kaohsiung under its control. They don't have a good enough reason to attack Orb, even with Patrick Zala possessing almost-total control of the PLANTs. That leaves it up to Panama or Alaska, and, between the two, Panama is the more logical target. As valuable as taking Alaska and crippling the Earth Forces' central command would be, taking Panama would be the death knell of the Earth Forces up in space – a major boon to their side. Aside from that, ZAFT doesn't have the forces to take Alaska unless they're willing to leave their bases undefended and risk having the Alliance take some of them back. That would be a disaster for them right there."

John took another sip of his coffee before he scowled. "Of course, if ZAFT takes Panama… that will spell trouble for Orb, too."

"You're talking about Kaguya?" Murrue asked, to which John nodded in return.

"That's right," the ex-ZAFT commander said. "I'm sure that Kaguya has factored into the overall plans of both sides for a long time now. It's one of only _four_ Mass Drivers, two of which are under ZAFT control. If you're looking at it from a commander's point of view, then Kaguya is actually the easiest to take in the short term… but it's been largely ignored or passed over because of the long-term repercussions. ZAFT doesn't have the numbers to risk provoking Orb… and the Earth Forces are already at too much of a technological disadvantage to risk having Orb ally itself with ZAFT. But, if Panama falls, then it may make the Alliance desperate enough for Blue Cosmos to convince them to attack Orb."

"That's what the M1s are for," Kisaka replied, sighing. "Regardless of what ZAFT is planning… this 'Operation Spitbreak' will work to your advantage. Most of the ZAFT forces in the area have regrouped at Carpentaria, leaving your path to Alaska relatively clear."

"What about that team that was pursuing us?" Murrue asked. "Le Creuset's unit?"

"We haven't detected any ZAFT ships in the area," Kisaka replied. "They've either given up… or been called back to Carpentaria for the upcoming assault. There was a lot of talking on the diplomatic side."

"Still, it can't hurt us to be prepared for them when we leave," Mu said. "That Le Creuset is sly as a fox and one persistent customer. We all saw that up in space."

John nodded. "He's a snake of a man if I ever saw one, and as unpredictable as the wind. If he could find a way to do it, he'll keep his team in pursuit. Fortunately, they all probably think we're in JOSH-A by now, but it still doesn't hurt us to be prepared for any surprises."

* * *

The _Cousteau_

April 13, C.E. 71

Athrun sat alone atop the deck of the _Cousteau_, which had resurfaced for a time in order to restock and resupply. The submarine carrier had been sitting – waiting – in the general area for the better part of a month, and it was beginning to get to the crew and to the pilots of the Zala Team. As much as he did not want to face his old friend in battle once more… Athrun couldn't help but hope that the legged ship appeared soon.

Fortunately for Athrun, his main concerns, Zane and Yzak, were both miraculously under control. Zane, who'd been cooped up on the _Cousteau_ for the team's entire search while in Orb, had kept his sanity by occupying himself with practice and minor tune-ups to his CGUE. Thanks to supplies that had arrived while the rest of the Zala Team was in Orb, Zane had been able to once again upgrade his thermal cannon. While it still couldn't match up to the beam rifles that the G-weapon, or even the prototype beam rifle that Tomoyo's GINN equipped, the cannon now packed a great deal of power. Based on theoretical data, the cannon was strong enough to completely blow apart a mobile suit with ease.

On the other hand, Athrun had no idea how Yzak was doing it, but his scarred teammate had displayed a level of self-control that was nothing short of astonishing. He worked his shifts without complaint, he performed his tasks without talking back, and generally followed orders. The ultramarine-haired Coordinator had no idea what prompted this change in his teammate, but it was a positive change, one that he wasn't going to really question for now.

"Athrun? You mind if I join you?" came Nicol's voice. Athrun looked back over his shoulder at the team's youngest member and smiled.

"Of course not. You don't even need to ask," Athrun replied as Nicol sat down next to him.

The two stared out at the ocean for a while, the only sounds to be heard that of the seagulls flying overhead and the waves crashing against the _Cousteau_'s hull. Eventually, Athrun decided to break the silence, having gathered himself enough to ask a question that had been on his mind for a while now.

"Say… Nicol…" Athrun said. "Why did you join ZAFT? You never struck me… as someone who really wanted to fight."

Nicol smiled slightly. "Well, you're right about that," he replied. "I didn't want to fight, but… after I saw what happened with Junius Seven… I knew I couldn't simply sit by. I felt that I needed to do my part and protect the PLANTs."

Athrun felt a smile grow on his lips as well. It sounded just like Nicol, the peace-loving boy who should have been back in the PLANTs writing his next musical masterpiece instead of sitting here on the _Cousteau_ as an elite soldier of ZAFT.

'_It's like how Kira should have just been a normal civilian… yet there he is… piloting the Strike against us…'_

"Say, Athrun…" Nicol suddenly said, drawing Athrun back to reality before his thoughts could delve further. The ultramarine-haired Coordinator turned to give the green-haired pianist a look. "Before I say anything… I just want you to know that Saul and I were the only ones talking about this."

Athrun's eyebrows rose slightly in confusion. _'What…?'_

"Your friend… Kira…" Nicol started tentatively, Athrun involuntarily sucking in a breath. "He's… actually the Strike's pilot, isn't he…?"

At that, Athrun lowered his head. "So, you've figured it out, huh…?" he said. That was it – the game was up.

Nicol nodded. "We saw how you were acting around him, Athrun," he replied. "You were glad to see him… but you were too tense, too… I don't know how to say it, but it was like you were _afraid_ to talk with him or even meet him, like it was some great crime you were committing."

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Athrun asked, surprising Nicol.

"What am I going to do about it?" Nicol echoed. "Well, both Saul and I agreed that we wouldn't do anything if we could help it. I'm sure the Commander knows about it – I doubt you'd lie about it to him if he asked, and I'm sure he'd have found out anyways even if you did. Even then, he assigned you as mission commander, so he knows that you'll make the right choices."

Athrun nodded. "I sure hope so…"

"Listen, Athrun," Nicol continued, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Suddenly being put in charge is tough, I know… but listen! You shouldn't try to take things on by yourself! We're all here to help you out – even Zane would probably be willing to help you out if you asked him to."

Athrun chuckled as Nicol stood. "Yeah… thanks, Nicol…" he said, the green-haired Redcoat giving him a smile before heading back in.

Once Nicol was gone, Athrun sighed again, his thoughts turning to Kira once more. _'Kira… do we really have to do this…?'_

* * *

Athha Manor

April 13, C.E. 71

Cagalli shoved the last of the things she'd need into her bag and zipped it close, straightening as the door to her bedroom opened. She turned and leveled a glare at her father as the man entered.

"Cagalli…" Uzumi said as he inspected the bags on Cagalli's bed. "Do you truly intend to go along with that ship to Alaska?"

"I do, Father," the amber-eyed blonde replied, locking gazes with Uzumi.

The older man sighed. "I see…" he said. "So you are going to fight against ZAFT as an Earth Alliance soldier. Are you really that eager to go to war?"

"No! Of course not!" Cagalli replied angrily. "It's not like I want to fight!"

"Very well, then…" the Lion of Orb replied. "So, if you'll indulge my curiosity… why?"

"I want to help them out!" Cagalli said. "And I want to do whatever I can to end this damned war!"

Uzumi narrowed his eyes. "Do you really think fighting will end this war?" he asked gravely.

"N-no, but…"

"Listen, Cagalli. If you kill someone's husband in battle, then that man's wife will despise you for that," Uzumi said, cutting off his daughter. "And if you kill someone's son, then his mother would hate you for that, as well. I know that, because if someone were to take _your_ life, I would hate them with all my heart. Do you not see how war can be nothing more than a vicious cycle?"

"I know all that!" Cagalli replied heatedly. "But I can't just simply wait here and do nothing!"

"That kind of cheap, arrogant heroism will accomplish nothing!" Uzumi said, placing his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "Carrying a gun is not the only way to fight a war. You must learn what causes war, Cagalli! Simply attacking each other will _never_ solve anything!"

* * *

Hidden Morgenroete Dock

Approximately one hour later

Kira, Chris, Liz, Mu, and Tolle were lounging around in the _Archangel_'s hangar deck, waiting for the ship to launch. It had been quite a surprise for the three Gundam pilots and the mobile armor ace to learn that Tolle had been given approval to pilot the second Skygrasper by Captain Ramius and Lieutenant Badgiruel. However, they quickly realized that, as the ship's copilot, he easily had the most flying experience among all the other crewmembers sans Ensign Neumann, and he'd also spent much of his time in the Skygrasper simulations, improving on his flying ability.

As the five pilots simply waited around, overseeing final adjustments to their mobile suits, Mir's voice suddenly blared throughout the ship's intercom.

"_Ensign Yamato, please report to the rear upper deck,"_ Mir said. Kira blinked.

"Huh?" Kira said. "Why do they want me up there?"

Chris shrugged in response. "Who knows?" he said. "Maybe it's Cagalli wanting to say good-bye to you… or maybe even Makoto."

Kira sighed. There was still some time left. It wouldn't hurt to go check it out.

A few minutes later, the hatch on the upper deck opened, Kira climbing up the ladder to stand on the deck.

"Kira!" Cagalli shouted, drawing the brunet's attention to the blonde running across the gangplank towards the mighty Earth Forces warship.

"C-Cagalli?" Kira yelled back, his expression one of surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Look up there!" Cagalli called back, pointing to the window of the observation deck that was overlooking the hangar and the _Archangel_.

Kira, in spite of the uncertainty bubbling up within him, looked… and froze. There, alongside Lord Uzumi, General Samuel Dante, Lady Serenity, Lady Shizuka, Lord Misuumi Taiyonoha, Kisaka, and Erica Simmons… were his parents. Caridad Yamato smiled sadly, her eyes glittering with unshed tears. She shook her head and mouthed something to Kira, though what it was, the brunet couldn't tell – he couldn't lip-read, much less at this distance. Eventually, Kira's father Haruma pulled Caridad closer to him, giving Kira a small smile and a nod of approval and understanding.

Kira felt a sense of… sorrow overwhelm him for the moment, and he looked down, lost in thought. He didn't hear an out-of-breath-Cagalli climb up to the upper deck until she stepped up beside him and shook him on the shoulder.

"You can still say good-bye to them before you leave…" she said. "So, why… why won't you?" Kira remained quiet, hesitating over how best he should phrase his answer.

"I… can't do it…" Kira finally said. "I can't say good-bye as if this'll be the last time I'll ever see them…" The brunet faced Cagalli. "Listen… Cagalli… could you tell them that I'm sorry for this? Tell them that, once this is all over, I'm going to come home, and then we can sit down and talk."

"O-okay…" Cagalli replied quietly, watching as Kira turned and walked away. After taking a few steps, the brunet stopped and turned to the blonde once more.

"Take care of yourself, okay, Cagalli?" Kira said, a sad smile twisting his lips. "Thanks for everything… please pass that on to Lady Serenity, Makoto, and Minako, too."

"Kira!" Cagalli cried out, more emotion spilling out through her words than Kira had ever heard. He turned, and was surprised when the blonde collided with him, enfolding him in a fierce hug.

Neither teen noticed the looks of surprise or concern being sent their way by those who were looking on from the observation room.

"Listen… Kira… don't get killed, all right?" Cagalli said, prompting a slight smile from Kira.

"Don't you worry…" he replied. "Nothing's going to happen me…"

The brunet took on a grim, but determined expression. _'That's right… I've got my friends with me… I'll make it out of this alive…'_

A few minutes later, after Cagalli had disembarked from the _Archangel_, the gates opened, leaving the vast Pacific Ocean open to the massive warship. The _Archangel_ moved forward, joined shortly by an Orb escort fleet as it left the comparative safety of Orb waters. As the ships reached the edge of Orb's territorial waters, the Orb fleet slowed to a halt, leaving the _Archangel_ to pull ahead, gaining speed until it lifted off into the air.

* * *

Hidden Morgenroete Dock

Observation Deck

"How long do you intend to hide it?" Shizuka said, staring out as the _Archangel_ disappeared from sight. Kisaka and Erica had already returned to their duties, leaving the rest to talk as they saw fit in this place, arguably one of the most secure places in Orb.

"I… Everything has gotten so complicated…" Caridad said. The others present could not help but agree with her assessment. "I'm not sure how much longer we'll be able to hide the truth from them…"

"Do you think we want them to know the truth?" Serenity asked. "We don't… but hiding the sins of our pasts and the truth of their origins only serves to cause greater hardships."

"I know what you mean…" Caridad replied. "But…"

"I can understand your reluctance," Samuel said. "We all wish that we could all just bury the past and put it all to rest. However, it's not that simple. David… Ulen… Sera… they all meddled in the realm of the gods and we let them do it. Now, these children are paying the price for our sins."

Serenity laughed bitterly. "We _let_ them?" she asked. "It's not as simple as that, Samuel. We _encouraged_ the three of them… and so many paid the price for it. So many others… while we're here, walking free and absolved of any punishment."

"So… you want her to hate you, then?" Misuumi asked quietly. "Is that it?"

"No," Serenity replied. "I just want her to see me for what I really am. In the end… I'm just a monster. I'm no different from my father."

Uzumi sighed as he brought out a picture from his coat. "Destiny is a terrible thing…" he said. "I never imagined they'd all meet like this… it's _much_ too soon for it to have happened. They aren't ready… and _we_ most certainly aren't."

"Yes…" Shizuka said. "And they're all beginning to awaken… the only one still unaccounted for is Setsuna."

Serenity frowned. _'Should I tell them about Setsuna…?'_ she asked herself, but quickly quelled that thought. As of the moment… only she and her daughter Makoto knew that Setsuna had been in Orb… even if only for a short time, and he'd made it a point to ask them _not_ to let anyone know that he'd ever been in the country.

'_Setsuna… you still have no idea about Hanako… do you…?'_ Serenity thought, her mind light-years away as she gazed down at the water and beyond it, idly wondering whether the troubled teen knew of the circumstances surrounding his past.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Hangar

A few minutes later

Murdoch was quite surprised when he turned to find the three Gundam pilots walking into the hangar, all fully suited up and ready for combat.

"Eh?" the chief mechanic said, not bothering to conceal his surprise. "Why are you kids all dressed up? What's wrong, guys – I mean, Ensigns? Haven't you started…"

"As soon as we leave Orb waters… ZAFT is going to attack," Kira said as he climbed into the Strike's cockpit, Chris and Liz climbing into the Raven and Guardian as well.

A confused expression crossed Murdoch's face. "… What was that about…?" he asked himself.

* * *

The _Cousteau_

Athrun and his teammates waited patiently – for the most part, at least – in their mobile suits. Readings on the sonar had identified an Orb fleet leaving Onogoro, but the ships were clustered too closely together for anyone to get an accurate reading on whether the legged ship was among the ships or not. Athrun, however, knew deep down that it was, surprisingly being backed up by Leon and Zane, the two most unlikely prospects for teaming together to achieve a common goal.

The team was confident that the coming battle would be their last, and it would end in victory. Aside from their six G-weapons, they also had Zane's heavily upgraded CGUE and Tomoyo's GINN Assault Type. Aside from that, they were eight of the best pilots ZAFT could field – yes, they were a highly skilled team. Had Orb not been where it was, the Zala Team would have sunk the legged ship almost a month ago during their last encounter.

Even with that said, achieving victory – while a possibility and most likely an eventuality - still wouldn't be easy. The Strike and the Guardian were arguably the most powerful of the prototypes the legged ship could have retained, and while the Raven was not as strong in terms of combat capabilities, it could still fly independently in the atmosphere, giving it a huge advantage in mobility over the Zala Team's G-weapons. Too, their three pilots were highly gifted – the Strike's pilot extraordinarily so – and their skills were improving faster than lightning. It was almost impossible to tell where their limits were – they just didn't seem to have any.

"_A ship is separating from the rest of the Orb fleet,"_ the _Cousteau_'s sensor operator said over the submarine carrier's intercom. _"Checking thermal patterns… it's the legged ship!"_

Yzak and Zane both sucked in anticipatory breaths as Dearka whistled appreciatively.

"_Wow. I guess all that waiting paid off, after all…"_ the blonde said, grinning.

Yzak, on the other hand, scowled. "I don't like having to keep fighting the same guys over and over again," he said. "Let's end this, already!"

"_Cut the chatter,"_ Athrun said. _"We're launching. That ship goes down _today_!"_

The Aegis, the Sentinel, and the Blitz launched first, their Guuls following them up. Zane's CGUE, the Duel, and the Surge followed, with the Buster and Tomoyo's GINN Assault Type launching last.

The eight mobile suits fell into formation, the Sentinel and Duel in the lead, before making a beeline towards the legged ship.

* * *

A power cable plug emerged from the floor of the _Archangel_'s starboard catapult, and Kira reached down, grabbing it and plugging it into the Agni hyper impulse cannon.

"Connecting power conduits," Kira said as he glanced through his diagnostics, making sure the connection was set. "Auxiliary power online. Standing by and ready."

Meanwhile, the _Archangel_'s multipurpose launch tubes fired smoke bombs while dischargers on the bridge tower released smoke as well, enshrouding the entire warship in a massive smokescreen.

When the officers and pilots of the _Archangel_ had discussed the possibility of a ZAFT attack outside Orb waters, they'd decided that they'd need to quickly deal with all seven enemy mobile suits using a quick counteroffensive. It was a potentially dangerous maneuver, but it was one that could easily settle the battle if they pulled it off correctly.

After taking into account all their fighting strength, it was determined that Kira and the Strike were to be the centerpiece of the whole plan.

Meanwhile, in the Sword Striker-equipped second Skygrasper, Tolle gulped nervously.

"_Don't be nervous,"_ Mu said reassuringly as he prepared to launch, his own fighter equipped with the Aile Striker. "_All you need to do is spot for the Strike from overhead, and Kira will take care of the rest. You don't need to worry about attacking the enemy machines."_

"Y-yes sir," Tolle replied, some of his anxiety appeased, but there was still that slight hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"_Alright, don't get shot down, kid!"_ Mu said. "_Let's go! Mu La Flaga! Skygrasper, launching!_" The Hawk of Endymion punched his throttle, the fighter rocketing off the catapult.

"_Your course is clear,"_ Mir said as Tolle's fighter was loaded onto the catapult. _"S__kygrasper Koenig, you're cleared for launch. Be careful out there."_

Tolle smiled slightly, bracing himself for his first launch before following Mu out into the air.

Several members of the Zala Team frowned as the legged ship disappeared from both visuals and sensors.

"_Smokescreen…"_ Dearka murmured. _"We won't be able to find them unless we get in there… They _might_ be able to see us, but we _definitely_ can't see them."_

"_Heh… they're getting cute with us,"_ Yzak said, an underlying tone of urgency and caution beneath his otherwise lightly toned words.

Tomoyo frowned. "Be alert," she said, an uncharacteristically hard, cold edge to her voice. "They're probably going to launch attacks while we can't see them."

No sooner had the silver-gray-haired girl spoken when two fighters emerged from the smoke cloud.

"_Huh… two of them?"_ Yzak said, raising his beam rifle and firing repeatedly. The two fighters, however, easily dodged the Duel's shots as they closed in.

"_Alright, not bad flying, kid,"_ Mu complimented as he threw his Skygrasper through a dizzying set of evasive maneuvers. _"I'll leave you in charge of backing up the Strike."_

"_R-right!"_ Tolle said as he pulled his fighter up to a higher altitude, away from the fighting, where the eight ZAFT mobile suits were beginning to converge on Mu's Skygrasper. _"Skygrasper Koenig here. Strike, do you copy? I'm sending over the enemy's coordinates and the targeting data."_

Kira frowned as he activated his targeting computer. _'Tolle…'_ he thought, quickly shaking his head to clear his focus.

"Roger that."

The brunet, using the targeting data being provided, aimed the Agni and pulled the trigger. The powerful hyper impulse beam split through smoke and air as it lanced through the sky, emerging from the smokescreen and barely missing the ZAFT formation, the majority of the pilots gasping in surprise.

"Damn it! Everyone, scatter!" Athrun yelled as he dropped altitude. Oh, no, he was _not_ about to let his team be used as target practice for that hyper impulse cannon. He grimaced as several shots came close to striking the Duel, Buster, Blitz, and CGUE.

On the _Archangel_'s deck, Kira tore the cable free before he leapt into the air, the Strike's Phase Shift Armor activating.

"_All right…"_ John said as his GINN quickly took the Strike's place. _"It's time."_

The Strike emerged from the smoke, attracting the attention of the ZAFT pilots. However, as they took aim, several high-caliber sniper rifle rounds emerged from the smoke cloud and struck the Blitz, knocking it out of alignment. The group turned their attention back to the smoke cloud as a pair of mobile armors materialized from the smokescreen, further disorienting the ZAFT pilots.

The Guardian quickly let loose with its entire arsenal on the Surge, Saul barely managing to maneuver through the barrage of grenades and beams. The Raven's arsenal of machineguns opened up on the CGUE as the Aile Skygrasper fired its beam rifle and beam cannon at the Aegis, preventing the three machines from giving the Strike any attention. Meanwhile, sniper rounds continued to lance out from the smokescreen, keeping the Blitz, Sentinel and GINN Assault Type dancing through the air, unable to mount any clear offense without the risk of getting blown to pieces – though this only applied to their Guuls and vulnerable joints in the case of the former two.

The Strike, its thrusters at maximum, dodged fire from the Duel and Buster before flipping over and firing a single, well-placed shot from the Agni into the Buster's Guul. The entire platform shook under the strain of the hit, and, before Dearka could react, the Strike had slammed its knee into the Buster, kicking the artillery mobile suit clear off of the platform mere seconds before it collapsed altogether.

Yzak turned and made a run at the Strike, the Duel's Igelstellungs blazing. Kira quite literally danced through the barrage, returning fire with the Launcher Strike's anti-ship vulcan cannon. Several shots struck the Guul's missile launcher with pinpoint precision, destroying it and badly damaging the Guul's thrusters in the process. Yzak struggled to keep the Duel in the air, but, even with his thrusters in the red zone, the Duel Assault Shroud was simply far too heavy, and it fell towards the ocean.

"Only two minutes in and we've already lost Dearka and Yzak? Damn it, they're worthless!" Zane swore as he continued to trade fire with the much more maneuverable Raven.

"Not good… hold on, Yzak! Athrun, Nicol, take the Strike! Leon, give them cover!" Tomoyo called out as she pulled out of the way, barely dodging another sniper round before firing in the general direction from where it had come from. Leon was already moving before the words had finished leaving her mouth. He moved in close to the smokescreen and fired several blind shots at the Aile Skygrasper, buying time for Athrun and Nicol to break off and rush in the direction of the Strike.

"Take this!" Nicol said as both he and Athrun took aim with their beam rifles and fired on the Strike. Kira evaded the beams with ease as he continued his descent towards the smoke. Without warning, the _Archangel_ materialized from the smoke cloud. Its massive Gottfried beam cannons split the sky as they fired, driving away the Blitz and the Aegis, while the CIWS and missiles began opening up on the Sentinel and GINN. Leon quickly pulled back, letting his armor absorb a few scattered shots from the CIWS as Tomoyo began shooting missiles out of the sky with her beam rifle and gatling guns.

Elsewhere, the Raven made a beeline for Zane's CGUE, its own guns oddly silent.

"Oh, you want to play chicken, Chris?" the ZAFT Redcoat asked. "Well, too bad!" With that, the ace pilot fired a salvo of missiles at the midnight blue mobile armor.

Several missiles collided with the Raven, but Chris simply allowed his armor to absorb the damage as he continued his reckless charge.

"Alright, fine. Let's see your armor take _this_!" Zane said as he took aim with the thermal cannon and pulled the trigger.

Instead of a beam lancing out, an alarm sounded within the cockpit, prompting Zane to gaze down at where several warning lights had lit up on his console.

_System malfunction detected._

_Primary weapon inoperable._

"What the hell? How can it be inoperable? Damn it all!" Zane yelled.

The ace pilot suddenly looked up and found the Raven almost on top of him. Zane swore as he fired his thrusters at maximum, trying to pull his Guul up to avoid the Raven. However, he was too late as the Raven had already rolled onto its back and activated its Ahura Mazda energy cannons. The claw-like beams tore right through the Guul like paper, leaving Zane unable to stay in the air.

"Well, I'll be damned…" Chris muttered, amazed that his crazy stunt had actually worked. "That was stupid, lucky, or just plain crazy enough to have beaten the odds…" He watched as the crimson CGUE and the remains of its Guul became victims of gravity, and he could almost hear Zane's vicious cursing over the comm.

He chuckled. "Probably all three, now that I think about it," he said before flying off towards where the rest of the ZAFT mobile suits were battling the Strike and Guardian. He didn't get very far before a beam lanced up from below him and nearly skewered the Raven. Chris looked down and frowned as the Sentinel leapt up off of its Guul, beam glaives held at the ready.

"_Well, you're someone I haven't had the pleasure of facing in a while, Raven,"_ came the voice of the Sentinel's pilot. _"We never got to finish that duel we started back in space… I suppose we have Miss Clyne to thank for that. However, this is where we end it, without interruptions!"_

With that, the Sentinel thrust forward with one of its beam glaives, Chris quickly drawing a beam saber to batter it aside before responding with several shots from his arm-mounted railguns. The Sentinel flipped itself over, swapping head for feet, and delivered a vicious kick to the head, sending Chris tumbling back.

'_Damn, he's tough…'_ Chris thought as the Sentinel descended, spinning the glaive in its right hand before bringing it down in a vicious blow. Chris barely managed to bring his beam saber in line, no small feat when you were upside down and in the atmosphere, locking weapons with the Sentinel for a brief moment before pushing the cerulean blue mobile suit off and landing on it, using it as a stepping stool to leap high into the air while sending it down towards the ocean.

Leon quickly fired his thrusters at maximum, pushing them past the safe zone to counter the effects of gravity. The Sentinel stopped falling mere meters above the water's surface before Leon began dancing the mobile suit in completely random directions, avoiding several railgun shots from the Raven. Leon quickly holstered the right hand spear and drew his rifle, responding with his own shots.

The ZAFT Redcoat almost smiled. "That wasn't bad… not bad at all…" he murmured, his eyes shining with life. "Now _this_ is a duel worth fighting!" He gunned his thrusters and leapt up into the air, holstering his beam rifle as he threw the Sentinel into a dizzying spiral, avoiding shots left and right, above and below. When he reached melee range, the Raven's beam saber struck, aiming to slice clean through the Sentinel. Seeing this, Leon redirected his thrust and forced the Sentinel into a ferocious maneuver that had it twisting up and over the Raven's beam saber by the smallest of margins. Taking advantage of the situation, the ace pilot quickly swung his left-hand glaive in a grand arc meant to take the Raven's arm off.

Chris quickly responded by drawing his other beam saber and parrying the Sentinel's beam glaive, stopping the ZAFT Gundam from doing anything more than scorching the Raven's shoulder armor.

"You've gotten better…" Chris said over the private comm. line they now shared through direct contact. It was odd, but… he was… _enjoying_ this fight.

Leon smirked in satisfaction. "Heh… and so have you!" he replied as he broke the deadlock before slashing with his glaives once more, his weapons crashing against the Raven's twin beam sabers in a shower of sparks.

Meanwhile, Kira rolled the Strike as he fell, evading shots from the GINN's high caliber gatling guns before using his combo weapons pod to swat the GINN's missiles from the sky. With a second of unseen movement, the brunet let the Strike drop beneath the smoke cloud, firing the Agni cannon at the GINN. Tomoyo leapt off of her Guul just as the platform was incinerated by the powerful beam and aimed her beam rifle at the Strike. Her first shot missed Kira's Agni, but only because the brunet had jerked the Strike to the side. Tomoyo fired again, and adjusted her aim, watching as the Strike fell right into the middle of her sights.

As Tomoyo began to pull the trigger, a sniper round scored her GINN's left shoulder gatling gun, forcing her to jettison the weapon just before it exploded.

"Thanks, Mr. Alaric," Kira said as he fired the Agni at the shaken and vulnerable GINN. His shot connected this time, taking the GINN's entire right arm off. The force of the explosion jarred the silver-white mobile suit and its pilot, sending them falling to the ocean below.

Within her machine, Tomoyo took her helmet off and looked at her reflection on the main screen. "Why… why do you hold back like this…?" she seemingly asked herself, tears coming to her eyes. "Your hesitation… eventually, it's going to cost someone their life…"

Back in the air, the Aegis and the Blitz had just momentarily broken free of the _Archangel_ and Aile Skygrasper's relentless assaults, their pilots attempting to locate the Strike. Athrun and Nicol were surprised when they saw the Strike eject the Launcher Striker and leap into the air. Their surprise was compounded when the Aile Skygrasper flew past the mobile suit and ejected the Aile Striker, shield, and beam rifle, only to have the equipment mount itself up on the Strike.

"No way… he changed his equipment in midair…?" Nicol said. The Strike activated the Aile Striker's powerful verniers and surged forward, gunning for the two ZAFT mobile suits.

"Damn it," Saul muttered as he briefly wondered just who in the world was piloting the Guardian. He cursed again as he used his one remaining anti-armor sword to deflect the Guardian's wing beam blades away. He'd already lost one sword trying to keep those blades from tearing him apart, and he'd had to sacrifice the Hakenfaust piercer lock to save himself from taking a pack of grenades right to the face.

This was getting completely ridiculous, though. The Guardian, unlike the other transformable G-weapons, was truly in a league of its own. The Aegis was formidable in either form while in a space environment… but its mobile armor couldn't fly independently while in the atmosphere. The Raven's mobile armor mode, on the other hand, lost none of its combat power and was capable of independent atmospheric flight, but it was almost radically inferior when compared to its mobile suit mode.

The Guardian, on the other hand, was formidable in both mobile suit and mobile armor mode, and with virtually no reductions to its combat ability regardless of whether it was in space or in the atmosphere. The only mobile suits that could truly boast of the same feat were, to a lesser extent, the Strike and, depending on how far Leon was willing to push its thrusters, the Sentinel.

Saul was torn from his thoughts as the Guardian swooped in, its hyper impulse rifle and beam guns blazing. Cursing, Saul brought his beam rifle to bear and fired. The Guardian suddenly transformed into mobile suit mode, the rifle shot passing harmlessly between its torso and right arm. Saul had no time to react before the purple mobile suit's shield had battered aside the Surge's right arm, while a drawn beam saber severed the Surge's left arm, sending its rifle flying free and down into the ocean.

The Guardian then brought its shield in line and slammed it into the Surge, sending the mobile suit falling to the ocean, before it brought out its hyper impulse rifle and fired on the Guul, destroying it.

Nicol launched his Gleipnir at the Strike, but Kira's swiftly drawn beam saber cut the rocket-propelled claw in half. Nicol activated the Trikeros' beam saber and charged forward. The two pilots began dueling while Mu swooped in on the Aegis and engaged it using hit-and-run attacks, preventing Athrun from double-teaming Kira.

Tolle, tired of sitting around watching, swooped down himself as the Strike and Blitz broke apart, firing missiles on the Blitz as Nicol aimed the Trikeros' beam rifle at the Strike.

"Bastard!" Nicol said, instinctively shifting his aim towards the fighter as it passed by.

"Tolle, no!" Kira said, flying forward with all the speed the Aile Striker could give him. The Strike was obscured by Tolle's fighter, preventing Nicol from seeing Kira's movements. When the Skygrasper was no longer between the two mobile suits, Nicol saw the Strike bearing down on him. The Strike's beam saber flashed through the air, severing the Blitz's right arm at the shoulder and leaving it virtually defenseless. Kira quickly followed up with a kick that sent the Blitz flying off of the Guul before landing on the flight platform himself.

"Damn it…" Athrun swore, the gravity of his situation sinking in. He and Leon were once again on their own, facing five skilled opponents, plus an extra fighter and the legged ship itself. If things could have gone any more badly than it had now… no, Athrun didn't want to think about that. Things probably _couldn't_ have gone any worse than they just had.

However, the only mobile suit that approached him was the Strike. He knew instinctively – Kira wanted to settle things fairly. It was just like his old friend to do something like that…

'_No, don't think of him like that…'_ Athrun told himself, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. If he thought of Kira as his friend… all he'd do is hesitate, and that would get him killed.

The Strike and Aegis fired their beam rifles, narrowly evading what shots they could and using their shields to absorb what shots they couldn't dodge as they circled each other. Athrun attempted to close the distance for melee combat, but Kira took careful aim and fired a single, well-placed shot that pierced the heart of the Aegis' Guul. Athrun quickly leapt off the damaged flight platform, sending it forward with all the speed it could muster. Kira leapt off of his own Guul as well, the two flight platforms colliding before being engulfed in a spectacular midair explosion.

Transforming the Aegis into mobile armor form, Athrun fired several shots from the Scylla multi-phase beam cannon, Kira dodging each shot in turn as he descended back towards the _Archangel_. Athrun's eyes went wide as he realized that he'd fallen into the line of fire of the legged ship's massive Gottfried cannons. He put all discretionary power to his thrusters and pulled to the side, barely evading the beam, though the shot still drained a fair amount of power from the Aegis' battery. Athrun transformed the Aegis back into mobile suit mode as he let himself fall towards a small, rocky island.

"_Kira, I'm sending the Sword Striker over to you!"_ Tolle said as he flew his Skygrasper into position over the Strike and _Archangel_.

The moment Athrun landed on the island, the legged ship opened up with its ventral Igelstellungs, pummeling the Aegis. Athrun grit his teeth as he raised his shield for added defense. He quickly glanced at his power readings, and bit back a curse. Between the earlier battling he'd been doing, the glancing blow from the Gottfried, and the Igelstellung barrage that was pounding him into the ground, he was already in the danger zone.

A proximity warning alerted Athrun, prompting the ultramarine-haired Redcoat to look up. Surprise etched itself onto Athrun's features as the Strike descended, brandishing its Schwert Gewehr anti-ship sword. Athrun attempted to raise his rifle, but it was too late, and the sword cleaved his rifle into two as he leapt back. He belatedly realized that the moment the Strike had leaped down at him, the CIWS barrage had ended.

"Retreat already!" Kira said. "This battle is over!"

"_Shut up!"_ Athrun retorted as he activated the beam saber in the Aegis' right forearm and charged into the battle, swinging it at the Strike.

"Athrun, stop it!" Kira said as he leapt over Athrun's attack and brought his anti-ship sword down on the Aegis. Athrun managed to absorb the attack with his shield, but was still pushed back by the sheer power behind the blow. "I don't want to fight you!"

"_It's too late for that, Kira!"_ Athrun shot back as he renewed his reckless attack, Kira parrying his blow and locking blades, his anti-ship sword against Athrun's beam saber. _"Remember what I told you? This will only end when one of our machines has been destroyed!"_

Athrun threw away his shield and activated the beam saber in the Aegis' left forearm before stabbing it forward. However, the shift in position reduced the force being put behind Athrun's earlier attack, making it easier for Kira to hold it back. The Strike's right arm snapped up and shoved the Aegis' left arm up, before Kira pushed it away completely and lashed out, the Strike's fist connecting with the Aegis' head before Athrun could react.

The red Gundam was thrown back by the impact, falling to the ground in a crumpled heap. Its red armor faded to dull gray as the last of its combat power was exhausted.

"Athrun!" Kira called out, raising the Schwert Gewehr over the Strike's shoulder. This battle was over – why couldn't Athrun see that?

"_Athrun, get out of there!"_ another voice shouted over an open line, drawing everyone's attention. Even Leon and Chris, who'd been battling nearby, stopped their fight at the sound of the voice. All eyes turned as the Blitz materialized less than a hundred meters away from the Strike, a lancer dart in its left hand. It thrust the recovered weapon forward at the Strike, its pilot clearly not concerned about his safety in the least.

Kira's eyes widened. He was too close… there was no time to think… only react. He watched in horror as the Strike's mighty Schwert Gewehr and the Blitz closed far too quickly, the anti-ship sword descending towards the black mobile suit's cockpit area.

Suddenly, time seemed to slow down to a halt as a pair of desperate voices cut through the fog in Kira's mind.

"_NO! DON'T DO IT!"_ they cried out together. For the briefest of moments, Kira felt a rush of power and energy flow through him as an amethyst jewel-like seed shattered behind his eyes.

With barely any time left to spare, the anti-ship sword suddenly shifted down towards the waist of the Blitz…

And tore right through the black mobile suit's Phase Shift Armor. Kira let go of the Schwert Gewehr as he backed off slowly, his mind and body completely numb as he looked at what he had just done.

"_Athrun… r-run…"_ Nicol said as electricity ran wild through the Blitz's cockpit, the heat burning him even with his pilot suit on.

A tense two seconds later… the Blitz exploded in a massive fireball, sending bits and pieces of its armor flying all over the area.

"NICOOOOOOL!" Athrun screamed his friend's name in absolute grief and horror.

At the same moment of the Blitz's destruction, the remaining members of the Zala Team emerged from the waters around the island, Yzak, Dearka, and Tomoyo leaping out onto dry land as Zane's CGUE dragged the battered Surge out of the water.

They all froze at the sight that lay before them, unwilling to believe what they were seeing.

All of them were stunned – even Zane. The Blitz was gone… _Nicol_ was gone. The gentle, kind-hearted, song-writing, piano-playing fifteen year-old boy who never should have been in this war – who should have been in the PLANTs composing his next piece or preparing for his next concert instead of fighting – was now dead. Bits and pieces of the Blitz lay all over the area, the biggest of which was the stealth mobile suit's torn-apart, battered and barely-held-together torso and head.

"Nicol…" Dearka whispered.

Yzak was completely at a loss for words. "No way… i-impossible… he can't be… Nicol…"

"Nicol!" Saul cried out desperately, tears forming in his eyes.

Tomoyo was speechless, her eyes wide as tears streamed down her face. Her own reflection suddenly smiled, the expression a combination of mockery, pity, and regret.

"_See? What did I tell you…?"_ her reflection said, Tomoyo hearing own voice mocking her… and not for the first time in her life. _"You hesitated so many times… and that boy paid the price for your weakness."_

"No…" Tomoyo whispered, clutching herself tightly as she shook her head, sending her tears spraying all over the GINN's cockpit. "No… it's not… I'm not…"

"_There's no use denying it,"_ her reflection continued. _"If only you took things seriously from the very beginning, we could have taken care of this a long time ago… but you're too soft, my little girl. You're far too soft for this. You just can't handle the burden of taking lives. Maybe… Maybe I should take over again. After all, I'm the one who can pull that trigger without hesitation… all you have to do is ask, just like you did when you begged me once before!"_

"No, just stop!" Tomoyo screamed, thankful that her comm. unit was shut down. "Please… no more…"

Her reflection just smiled at her. _"Listen, my little Tomoyo-chan…"_ she said, suddenly more gentle. _"If you're not willing to fight your hardest for what you believe in… then your precious dreams will simply stay as they are… while even more of your friends will become nothing more than mere memories. Sooner or later, you'll be talking about them in the past tense… just as you will with dear, sweet Nicol."_

"No… please… I…" Tomoyo whispered, her entire body going cold. Unable to keep her grief under her control or even simply brush aside the thought of everyone meeting Nicol's fate… she simply held onto herself tighter as she cried, alone in her mobile suit's cockpit. Indeed… she'd failed, and Nicol had paid the price for it.

Yzak, on the other hand, felt his body burn up with an overwhelming rage that surpassed all the rage he'd felt after the Strike had given him his scar. He quickly grabbed a beam saber and prepared to attack the Strike for all he was worth, but the legged ship's Igelstellungs opened up as the rest of its mobile suits descended.

"Damn it…!" Saul cursed. "Guys! We have to retreat!"

"_WHAT?"_ Yzak yelled, his temper surfacing. _"But they –!"_

"I KNOW!" Saul shot back angrily, surprising the rest of the pilots. "I know, but we've got no other choice! Athrun's out of power and we've completely lost any advantage we had! We have to escape while we still can!"

"_I agree…"_ Zane said softly. _"We'd only join him if we stayed. Nicol wouldn't want us to simply lose our lives like this…"_

Yzak grit his teeth as he pulled Athrun to safety. Dearka brought Saul along with him, while Zane, who was about to take the non-responsive Tomoyo, paused to look at the unmoving Sentinel.

"Leon… Leon Vanyel," he tried calling, but was met with silence. His eyes widened when the Sentinel suddenly raised its beam rifle, leveling it directly at the Strike.

Within the Sentinel, Leon had a death grip on the controls, his molten-red irises burning with an unmistakable fury as he looked through his targeting computer, his aim dead-center on the Strike's cockpit. His finger began to tighten around the trigger, but he suddenly stopped and loosened his grip. The Redcoat tried again, coming _very_ close… all he needed was that last bit of force to pull the trigger and fire. Again, he couldn't do it. He tried one last time, before he let go and punched his main screen in frustration.

"Damn it… Leon Vanyel…" he said, his voice choking as tears filled his eyes. "This isn't something you should even be considering… how could you allow yourself to try and pull something like that? Is this all the resolve you've got?" He punched the main console and cried in frustration and anger, his emotions running almost completely unchecked.

"_Leon Vanyel, are you all right?"_ came the insistent, almost-worried voice of Zane Scirocco once more.

The golden-brown-haired Redcoat hit his comm. "I'm fine, don't worry," he said curtly, his tone frosted over with anger and bitterness. "The GINN's heavy – we can carry her back to base between us."

"… _Very well,"_ Zane replied softly as Leon took up a position on the other side of the GINN. He took one last look at the Strike, the molten-red flecks in his left eye having disappeared, leaving a shining golden iris in its place.

'… _Kira… Yamato…'_ he thought, before he gave Zane a double-click on the comm. unit. They leaped into the water at the same time, Tomoyo's GINN held aloft between them.

Back on the island, the Raven, Guardian, and GINN landed around the still-motionless Strike.

"Wow…" Chris said, sighing in relief. "I didn't think we'd _ever_ be able to take one of them down… Good work, Kira."

"_Shut up…"_ Kira replied coldly.

"What?"

"_I said shut up!"_ Kira yelled. _"I just killed someone!"_

Chris was prepared to try and convince his friend that it was all in self-defense… but, hearing the raw emotion in Kira's voice stopped Chris dead. He… suddenly just couldn't find himself to do it.

John was looking over the wreckage of the Blitz's torso, frowning the whole while. _"No…"_ he said. _"I think you spoke too soon… You missed the cockpit."_

Suddenly, the ruined cockpit hatch blew off of its hinges – part of an emergency escape feature integrated into the cockpit – , releasing smoke that had been trapped inside. A figure in a red ZAFT pilot suit crawled out of the smoking hatch, looking almost as bad as his mobile suit did. The pilot's helmet visor was cracked, but not shattered. The pilot suddenly doubled over, taking his helmet off and revealing familiar features that stopped Kira cold.

"N-Nicol…?" he whispered, before his eyes widened. Nicol quickly tossed his helmet aside, vomiting blood onto the Blitz's torso before collapsing in a heap.

"_Archangel_, the Blitz's pilot is still alive!" Kira yelled frantically. "Please, we need a medic down here, ASAP!"

* * *

**Author's Notes: Well… I pretty much enjoyed that. Yes, I've kept Nicol alive. Why? He's one of several characters I like who didn't deserve to die the way they did in canon. Again, this has no relation to any other fanfics that keep him alive. I just chose to do it because… well, I'll let you figure that out for yourself.**

**We get some interesting looks at the sides of other characters, and it seems that Serenity seems to know something about "Setsuna" and "Hanako", and is unwilling to disclose just what it is. It's certainly quite a bombshell when it does come out, but it's something you'll all need to wait for. Only one other person aside from me knows about it, and you'll have to try **_**really**_** hard to get it out of either of us.**

**Aside from that, we also get to witness some strange occurrences during those battles – particularly for Kira and for Tomoyo. What those mean… again, I leave to your imagination until we actually get to the point where I reveal it.**

**Well, that's all for now. Once again, I ask: Please leave a review! I really appreciate those who do, but… well, I can't force you guys if you don't have the generosity or thoughtfulness to do it. *Sigh***

**Anyways, until the next chapter… Ja ne!**


	18. Phase 18: A Flash in Time

**And… here we go. It took me a while, but we've reached the point where everything finally starts to fall apart for some… and come together for others.**

**This chapter should have been up two days ago… but, let's just say that things hardly ever go according to plan for me.**

**Anyways! This is one chapter I've both dreaded and waited for since starting this story… but I've finally managed to churn it out, and I hope I managed to do a good enough job on it. I certainly enjoyed writing it, and I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter as well.**

**As always, I implore you guys to leave reviews. They **_**really**_** make my day, and they're always a great motivation for me to keep pressing forward.**

**Disclaimer: The same disclaimers as always apply. I do **_**not**_** like repeating myself… though I'm going to start adding a **_**lot**_** of things to these disclaimers within the next six chapters.**

* * *

Phase Eighteen: A Flash in Time

April 15, C.E. 71

* * *

The _Cousteau_'s Pilot Locker Room

"Damn it!" Yzak shouted, punching a locker – _Nicol_'s locker. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!" He punched the locker with each repetition, unable to express his grief in any other way.

Unable to withstand the punishment, the locker door flew open after Yzak's last punch. Music sheets suddenly poured out, several of the Zala Team's members simply gazing at them with wide eyes. He'd been writing another song before he died. Yzak grit his teeth as he leaned forward, resting his hands on either side of Nicol's locker.

"Yzak…" Dearka said quietly, trying to find some way to calm his friend down.

"Why the hell did he have to die like that?" Yzak shouted, turning to Athrun and glaring at him. "And why out here?"

Athrun, grief-stricken and consumed by his own anger and sorrow, finally snapped as he spun around to face Yzak, grabbing the silver-haired pilot by the collar of his pilot suit and slamming him against a locker.

"Why don't you just say it, Yzak?" Athrun yelled as he wore all his emotions on the surface. "It's my fault that Nicol's dead!"

The distinct sound of a fist colliding with metal stopped everyone in the room cold as everyone turned to look at the source.

"That's enough!" Saul shouted, looking as angry as Yzak had ever been. It was enough to stun the rest into silence, especially those who'd known Saul since their academy days. The only ones seemingly not stunned by the normally laid-back hacker's outburst were Leon and Tomoyo, both lost in their own worlds at the moment, and Zane, who simply continued changing out of his pilot suit and into his uniform in total silence.

"Is this what Nicol would have wanted for us?" Saul continued shouting, his self-control having completely evaporated. "Would he want to see us beating the crap out of each other like this? No, he wouldn't, but look at you! What the hell is this going to accomplish? We should be saving our anger for what really deserves it – that damned legged ship and that thrice-damned Strike! Don't waste your energy on something so pointless!"

With that, Saul stormed out of the room. The only sound or movement made came from Zane, who finished buttoning up his coat before closing his locker. He made to leave, but stopped before the open door.

"Saul is right…" he suddenly said, his quiet voice seeming almost gentle. "It's pointless for us to waste our time fighting each other. But, if it wasn't for your hesitation and halfhearted efforts, _Commander_ Zala… then maybe we'd have dealt with them long before this would have ever happened. You may want to reflect on that before the next sortie." With his peace said, Zane left.

"First, that bastard killed Miguel… and then he gave me this scar… now he's killed Nicol, too! The next time we meet, I'm going to _destroy_ that damned Strike!" Yzak said, storming out of the room with Dearka following after their volatile silver-haired teammate to make sure he didn't start any trouble with the crew.

Only Athrun, Leon and Tomoyo were left in the room. Tomoyo still hadn't moved from where she sat on a bench, leaning back against the bulkhead behind her and staring off into space. Leon had already changed into his uniform and was simply looking out the observation window into the hangar, completely detached from the world around him. Athrun, on the other hand, had his gaze fixed on where Zane had been standing, the other Redcoat's words echoing in his head.

The ultramarine-haired Redcoat turned to face Nicol's opened locker. The green-haired boy's music sheets still littered the ground while his uniform hung in his locker, never to be used again. Tears filled Athrun's eyes as he eyed the uniform before he simply grabbed it and held onto it like a lifeline, memories of Nicol filling his mind as he held onto it.

"I should have died… not you…" he whispered. "Nicol… it's all because I was too weak to defeat Kira in the past… it was my weakness that killed you…"

Athrun collapsed to his knees and bowed his head low, his tears landing on Nicol's music sheets. His grief suddenly gave way to an intense anger as his thoughts focused on what had caused all of this. He looked up, an expression of total fury twisting his features.

"I'll kill him…" he growled out. "The next time we meet…"

Athrun quietly placed Nicol's uniform back in its locker, taking great care to smooth it out. He picked up Nicol's music sheets, looked them over, and took them with him as he left, leaving just two people alone in the room.

Tomoyo finally let out a slight breath, the first time since they'd gotten back that she'd done something that didn't seem completely mechanical. The girl stood quickly, went over to her locker, took her uniform out, and left, all without a single word. Leon watched her leave – he'd need to talk to her soon, or she was going to break under the pressure.

However, that was for another time… For now, he was alone… alone with his thoughts and feelings, very few of which were positive.

"So, that's how it is, is it… Athrun…?" Leon whispered quietly, his thoughts traveling far back into his past. "Loss gives way to grief and sorrow… that grief will eventually explode into anger… your anger leads to hatred… and finally, a blind desire for vengeance… It wouldn't matter if the person was your friend… All you see before you is the person who killed Nicol… and all you can think about is revenge."

He closed his eyes. "I know exactly how you feel. I felt it, once… that all-consuming desire for revenge… but something stopped me then… just as something stopped me now. I was ready to pull that trigger and be done with it… but I just couldn't let myself do it… It would have simply taken away the one thing I had left…"

Leon looked up towards the ceiling, opening his eyes to reveal molten red-and-gold irises. "Hanako…" he whispered. "I saw Father die protecting you… held Mother's cold body in my arms… I felt her blood cover my body as she shielded me to her last breath… and yet I couldn't bring myself to avenge them… because _they wouldn't have wanted me to avenge them_. Tell me, Hanako… am I wrong about them? Would you have wanted the same for me?"

He looked down at his right hand – the very hand that would have pulled the trigger for his beam rifle. "No, of course you would have… That's what stopped me back then, and that's what stopped me now, too…" he whispered. "They wouldn't have wanted me to do it… and Nicol wouldn't have wanted me to do it, either… those thoughts alone are what stopped me."

Leon smiled bitterly, closing his eyes. "I won't take revenge," he said. "But, I swear that I'll finish this battle in your stead, my friend. I won't kill any of them if I can help it… but I'll use all my strength to make sure that the weapon that killed you will never kill again."

Leon opened his eyes once more. The red flecks in his eyes had disappeared completely, leaving two shining golden irises in their place… accompanied by unnoticed, flowing tears brought on by his own, overwhelming sense of loss.

* * *

The _Cousteau_'s Crew Quarters

Saul absently keyed in his code and opened the door to his quarters, walking in and locking it behind him. Now was _not_ the time he wanted anyone to disturb him. He numbly looked around his quarters, before his eyes landed on a photo that sat atop the room's small desk. It was the photo from just after the conclusion of their graduation ceremonies from the ZAFT Military Academy. He, Athrun, Yzak, Dearka, Nicol, and Rusty were at the center of the picture, clad in the Red uniforms of top graduates. Leon stood at the edge of the photo, exuding a little sense of distance, but he was still smiling – even if it was just for the picture. Miguel, Matthew and Olor were with them as well, with the former standing at the back of the group while the latter two were standing next to Dearka.

The lazy hacker felt memories flash through his mind as he grabbed the photo and sank to the ground, tears streaming down his face and falling onto the photo… First, Rusty had been killed trying to get to the Strike during the Heliopolis mission. Then, Miguel, Matthew and Olor had followed soon after, killed by the Strike and the Raven…

None of them deserved to die. Rusty just wanted to do his part to protect the PLANTs, as did Matthew and Olor. Miguel was fighting because he needed the money for his sick little brother. And Nicol…

Nicol shouldn't have even been fighting in this damned war in the first place. He should have been in the PLANTs, performing at concerts… not here, fighting a war. But, like everyone else… he'd wanted to do his part to protect the PLANTs.

And now he was dead… killed by the Strike, just like the rest of their friends.

Saul gripped the photo tight. This wasn't just a war, and they weren't following orders anymore. No… this was _personal_. None of them were going to stop… until the Strike was destroyed and Nicol's death was avenged.

None of them would stop… not even Athrun.

* * *

The _Cousteau_'s Hangar

Zane allowed himself a bitter smile as he walked the hangar. Nicol Amalfi's death would finally drive the rest of them to do what should have been done weeks ago… especially that fool, Athrun. He knew of his friendship with the Strike's pilot, just as he knew that it was source of Athrun's hesitation in dealing with the legged ship and its mobile suits. But now, they were all determined to destroy the legged ship and its mobile suits, one way or another. This next battle… would be their last.

Still, even he wished that their motivation didn't have to come at this cost. Nicol may have been a weakling and an idealistic pacifist, but that small part of the Zane from before the Bloody Valentine that still survived wished it hadn't happened.

"Why did my cannon malfunction like that?" Zane asked as he walked up to his CGUE, eying the crews as they worked on the Zala Team's remaining mobile suits.

"A connection error, sir," the lead mechanic replied. "When you fired, the connection between some of the new and old components jammed, shorting the entire system. It was just a freak accident… a one-in-a-million freak accident, but a freak accident nevertheless."

Images from when Miss Clyne was returned filled his mind. He'd fired at the Raven, with most of his shots going wide, and then Leon Vanyel had stepped in and prevented him from firing. Then, the battle in the Earth's atmosphere… he'd had the Raven in his sights, with no way for the machine to avoid the round, only for the Aegis to grab him and pull him away, ruining his shot. And now, this latest annoyance… a system failure had saved his former friend from destruction.

"I want my cannon and _all_ of its systems thoroughly checked over," Zane ordered. "I want it at a hundred percent before the next sortie."

"Yes, sir," the mechanic replied. "We'll go through every component if we have to."

Zane nodded and walked off, sighing in frustration. "This is the third time he's escaped because of his luck," he said to himself, more than simply annoyed. "But… he won't escape a fourth time. I swear it."

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Infirmary

Several hours later

_The Strike standing over the powerless Aegis…_

_It's sword rising…_

_Athrun…_

_Running… the Strike turning…_

_Its sword swinging… Cutting into…_

"_Athrun… r-run…"_

_A flash… fire… pain…_

_Darkness…_

_Pain… smoke…_

_Must… escape…_

_Sunlight… more pain… blood…_

_Darkness…_

Nicol groaned as his eyes slowly opened, adjusting to his surroundings. He found himself lying on a bed, bandages covering his wounds. How had he gotten here? He tried to remember what happened. They were fighting the legged ship and its mobile suits. The Strike had sliced off the Blitz's right arm and kicked him into the ocean. And then…

"Athrun!" Nicol cried out as everything came back to him.

The Aegis had run out of power and the Strike had its sword raised, ready to deliver the final blow. He remembered recklessly rushing in to save Athrun… and then the Strike turned, slicing into the Blitz with its sword… and the Blitz had exploded. They must have rescued him and taken him back to the sub afterward.

"Ah… I see that you're awake," a voice said.

Suddenly, a doctor clad in an Earth Forces uniform appeared over him. Nicol's eyes widened as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He hadn't noticed until now that his right arm had been handcuffed to the guardrail of the bed and that the room he was in wasn't the infirmary of the _Cousteau_. He was in _the legged ship's infirmary_! Athrun and the others hadn't rescued him, the legged ship had!

But then… what happened to Athrun and the others? Were they alive? Or had they… no. They couldn't have been shot down. They were all Redcoats… ZAFT aces. They would have made it out of there… just like he had.

But he was now a prisoner of war. He had heard the stories of what anti-Coordinator Naturals did to ZAFT soldiers once they captured them. There were stories of captured soldiers being tortured to death by cruel interrogators regardless of whether or not they actually knew anything of value. There were stories of prisoners being beaten for even the slightest provocation, real or imagined. There were even stories of young captured pilots like him just disappearing, like they had never existed in the first place.

Nicol was terrified about what was going to happen to him. Would he ever see his parents and friends again? Or would he disappear as well? Nicol's heart was racing as his anxiety grew. He heard the increasing beeps of the heart rate monitor he was hooked up to as his fears grew.

"Whoa, easy now," the doctor said gently, trying to calm him down. "Calm down. No one is going to hurt you. Your body is still in rough shape. If you don't calm down, you're going to go into shock."

Nicol took the doctor's advice like a tonic, taking in deep breaths as he tried to calm himself down and slow his heart rate. After a few minutes of breathing, his heart rate had returned to normal.

"Alright, that's better," the Earth Forces doctor said. "How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?"

"No," Nicol replied quietly. "I just… feel a little stiff and sore."

"That's good to hear. I don't have much experience treating Coordinators," the doctor said kindly. "I wasn't sure how much painkiller to give you."

"Where… Where am I?" Nicol asked, though he already knew the answer. Still, it helped to get confirmation.

"You're onboard the _Archangel_," the doctor answered. "The very ship you've been chasing this whole time."

"Oh." So _that_ was what the ship was called… the _Archangel_… Nicol almost smiled. It was as if the Earth Forces had expected it to be some sort of messenger that would deliver them victory.

"You're very lucky to have survived that, you know," the doctor said. "Certainly, a Natural would not have survived. Though, I'm honestly surprised you're already awake, especially with all of your injuries… Well, most of them were superficial burns, so maybe I shouldn't be too surprised. Anyways, you should get some rest for now. The Captain will wish to speak to you in a little while, so you should rest up while you can."

"Were… Were any of the other mobile suits shot down?" Nicol asked, still worried for his friends.

"No," the doctor answered. "From my understanding, the rest of the attackers fled after your machine was destroyed."

Nicol smiled in relief. So they were safe… that was good to hear. "Thank you," the green-haired boy said.

"Don't worry about it," the doctor replied. "Just get some rest for now, okay?"

Nicol nodded, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. When he woke up a few hours later, the ship's Captain, the ship's XO and a blond-haired officer came by to ask him some questions. All they got from him was his name, rank, and serial number. He wasn't going to betray Athrun, Saul and the others – not now, and not in a million years.

After the three Earth Forces officers had left, Nicol found himself idly wondering what his teammates were doing right now. Then, he realized it. They probably thought he was dead… and his parents would find out soon enough. He could picture his teammates grieving in their own individual ways… he could almost see his father losing heart over his work… and his mother… he could picture his mother sitting at his piano, crying.

'_The truly ironic part about all this is that they'll probably try to destroy the legged ship to get revenge,'_ he thought. _'And, if they succeed, they really _will_ end up killing me.'_

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

April 16, C.E. 71

"They're going to attack us one more time before we reach Alaskan airspace. They'll want to avenge their comrade," John said, pulling up a map on the main screen. A blip represented the _Archangel_'s current position, with an arrow extending from it to JOSH-A. "I believe that this is the best route for us to take. It's the fastest route to Alaska, and there's even a chain of islands there for them to ambush us."

Natarle nodded. "So… what you're saying is we should lure them into ambushing us, when in fact we're the ones who are going to ambush them," she said.

"That's right," John replied. "The best way to counter an ambush is to make it look like you're going to get caught off-guard… and then drop the heavy end of the hammer on them. In an ordinary situation, I wouldn't go and use this tactic because it's far too obvious… but they'll most likely be angry and irrational, and looking for _any_ opportunity to avenge their comrade. They won't take the time to properly plan an ambush, nor will they take it into account that we know they're going to be there."

"The terrain would suit them better than it would suit us," Mu said. "Aside from the Strike and your GINN, everything we have can fly on its own, and the Strike can use the Raven as a flight platform if it ever needed one. The ZAFT team has to rely on their Guuls for flight, but, when there's a lot of dry land about… it's a moot point." Mu shrugged. "At any rate, I think we should try to deal with those machines one-by-one, with the Skygraspers providing support for one of our machines at a time so we can pick them off faster."

Murrue looked at the map. "That sounds like a good plan," she said. "I only hope nothing goes wrong. The rest of the war could hinge on outcome of this battle."

"In the worst-case scenario, we'll simply have to throw the plan out the window and fight our way through it," John said. "We can expect them to put up one hell of a fight, but this is one fight we can't lose, especially not after all of this. No, we have to win this. I never expected the _Archangel_ to be that critical to the war effort, but it's carrying what could eventually be the deciding factor."

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Brig

Nicol sighed lightly as he lay on the cot in his cell. Earlier in the day, the doctor had declared that he was well on his way to a full recovery and that he was now out of any danger. As such, a pair of guards had come by and taken him to the ship's brig. However, it would still be a few more days before he would be allowed to remove his bandages.

It wasn't so bad, all things considered. It beat being dead and it certainly beat being in the hands of Blue Cosmos. The only things Nicol really hated about his current situation were the facts that he was alone, and he had absolutely nothing to do but sit in his cell alone the whole time with nothing to do and no one to talk to.

He sighed. What he wouldn't give for a pencil and some paper… At least he could pass the time by writing some music.

"Hey, there… Nicol…" a familiar voice called out, jolting the green-haired boy out of his thoughts. He sat up and saw Kira, clad in a blue Earth Forces uniform, standing outside his cell with a food tray held in his hands.

Nicol smiled lightly. "Kira… so it was you in the Strike, after all…" he said. "The thought crossed my mind a while back, but I guess this pretty much confirms it, huh…?"

"Listen, Nicol, I…"

"It's fine," the green-haired boy suddenly said as he looked down. "If you were going to apologize for nearly killing me… then it's fine. I joined ZAFT knowing that I might die. The only thing that mattered to me was that Athrun got out of there alive." Nicol once again looked up at Kira. "You don't owe me anything, least of all an apology."

Kira smiled. "Thanks…" he said, before he seemed to remember why he was there. "Well, I came to bring your meal to you, so here." The brunet crouched down and slid the tray through the slot in the cell door. Nicol, feeling his stomach rumble at the prospect of food, quickly realized how long it had been since his last meal.

"Thank you," Nicol said gratefully, picking up the food tray and beginning to devour its contents.

Kira smiled at the polite boy's voracity. "It's no problem," he said. "I wanted to be the one to bring you your meal… since I needed to talk to you."

"It's about Athrun… isn't it…?" Nicol asked.

Kira nodded. "You two are close friends… aren't you?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Nicol said. "He's a good guy – intelligent, strong, loyal, and he's got a good sense of morals, too." Kira chuckled.

"That sounds like the Athrun I know…" he said, looking down. "He definitely cares for his friends… and now he thinks you're dead."

Nicol frowned. "Yeah… and I'm sure that he's not going to show you any mercy for that," the green-haired boy said. He gave Kira a determined look. "Please, you have to be careful. They're going to try to attack you one more time, and they'll be out for your blood – Athrun, most especially. He'll probably be blaming himself for causing this, and there will be absolutely no stopping him until and unless he's exacted revenge."

"Yeah…" Kira whispered. "I know…" He looked back up at Nicol. "Thank you for the chat, but I can't stay for long… so do you need anything else?"

"A pencil and some paper would be appreciated," Nicol said. "I'm a pianist, and I like to write my own pieces. I just want to do it to pass away the time."

Kira nodded. "I'll see what I can do," he said. "The paper won't be a problem, but I may get in trouble with our XO for giving you the pencil, seeing as it could be seen as a weapon of some sort."

Nicol chuckled. "Well, in a war, anything can happen," he said.

"Yeah," Kira replied. "Anyways, as long as you don't try anything funny with it, I doubt there'll be much of a fuss about giving you the pencil. Just… make sure that you don't get caught with it. Our XO might flip, and she'll probably take a piece of my hide and a liter of my blood as punishment."

"Right, I'll remember that," Nicol said, laughing. "Thanks, Kira."

* * *

The _Cousteau_'s Crew Quarters

Several hours later

Tomoyo quietly looked at her reflection in the mirror, reaching out with a delicate hand to touch it. She idly noted that the streaks that had been left behind by her tears were still present on her face – a painful reminder that someone she'd considered a friend… was no longer around.

"Should I do it…?" she whispered, taking her hand off of the mirror and looking at it. "But, even if I should… the real question is… _can_ I do it…?"

"_There's only one answer to that question,"_ a voice cut in. _"You know that better than anyone."_

Tomoyo looked up at her reflection and narrowed her eyes upon seeing the rather superior smirk she gave.

"You… what do you want?" she hissed. "I'm not exactly in the mood for another one of your jokes."

"_I'm simply trying to help you out here,"_ Tomoyo's reflection replied. _"The answer's clear as day. You've proven it time and time again – you just can't bring yourself to kill someone. You're far too soft for that, my dear, sweet Tomoyo-chan."_

"I know what you're going to say. I'm weak, I'm soft, I can't even shoot to kill, those exact qualities are what make me a bad soldier, and they're also the qualities that got Nicol killed," she said, feeling her tears resurface. "Message received, I'm already beating _myself_ up over it. I don't think you need to toy with my emotions and make things worse for me than they already are. Just leave me alone."

Tomoyo's reflection sighed. _"Well, I'm not here just to tell you that and make you miserable,"_ she said. _"Listen. That accursed Strike and its pilot killed Nicol, one of the very few people who have actually treated us – you – with kindness… He shouldn't even be here. He should have been in the PLANTs, making a living as a concert pianist, not down here in the hellhole we call a war. And, even with all of that, you, my little girl, are simply going to let this slide?"_

Tomoyo narrowed her eyes. "So, you want me to just go ahead and destroy the Strike, all for the sake of satisfying my desire to make up for the mistakes that cost my friend his life? In that mobile suit is another person, just like the rest of us. Killing him wouldn't solve anything. It certainly wouldn't bring Nicol back."

Her reflection laughed. _"Ah, yes, that's right… This isn't something that the kindhearted Tomoyo-sama can discuss and simply condone, now, is it?"_ she said. _"You don't have to do a thing. All you need to do is lend me your body… Just give me control during the next battle, and I'll put this whole business to rest. Just like the last time."_

Tomoyo saw images from her past flash through her mind – images she'd rather leave buried in the deepest recesses of her scarred heart. She shook her head to clear the images away, sending tears spraying.

"No," she replied, feeling her tears quietly sliding down. "I may be too soft to end lives, but I'm not going to simply pass this off to someone else."

Her reflection smiled slightly. _"So, what do you plan to do, then?"_ she asked. _"You yourself admitted it… you're too soft to end lives. So how do you expect to accomplish anything if you only give halfhearted efforts?"_

Tomoyo gave her reflection a fiercely determined glare, even through her tears. "I won't kill them… but I'll simply make sure that those mobile suits won't kill again," she said. "I'm going to give you everything I've got. Will that answer satisfy you?"

Her reflection finally smiled widely. _"I see…"_ she replied. _"It appears you've finally worked up the courage and the proper frame of mind to go through with it…"_ The silver-gray-haired girl's reflection laughed. _"Very well… but, I just have one condition for you. I want you to go and talk to that certain someone about how you feel, before the next battle. Otherwise, it might be too late, and you'll be left with nothing but regrets. I don't want that for you."_

Tomoyo simply regarded her reflection with a steady stare, before she sighed. While her other self had a sense of humor that could border on sadistic should she so want it to… her primary focus was, and always would be, looking out for the silver-gray-haired girl she shared body and mind with… which, really was a rather amusing thing to think of, since both of them technically had the same appearance.

And she knew… that her own feelings were something she would have to face sooner or later.

* * *

An hour later

Leon looked at his reflection in his bathroom mirror, and, not for the first time in the last four years, wondered whether he was looking at his own face or the face of a total stranger.

'_Damn it… am I still myself…? Or have I become… someone else…?'_ he asked himself before he splashed some water from the basin into his face. When he looked up… no, he still had the same face – spiky, golden brown hair, a grave, almost unreadable expression, and cold, crystal blue eyes. _'Maybe I'm really the only one that's changed… I nearly turned my back on my own creed and pulled the trigger for the sake of revenge, god damn it. That's not me… not me, at all…'_

A melodic chime suddenly snapped Leon from his thoughts, and it took him a moment to figure out that it came from his door – someone was here to see him. Leon sighed. Now was not the time… but, just like him, his teammates were all pretty much on edge, the weeks of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion finally catching up to them… especially after Nicol's death. Still, he wasn't about to turn someone away… not if they needed to sit down and talk.

"Give me a moment!" he called out, drying his hands and face off before pulling on his red coat and buttoning it up. He walked up to his desk and keyed a numbered code into the built-in computer terminal, triggering a feed from the camera right above the door. He frowned at what the picture was showing him.

"Tomoyo…?" he murmured, watching as the silver-gray-haired girl shifted almost nervously, looking down at the floor. _'Man, she's certainly the worst off right now… Tomoyo's not the type to hold a grudge for her to pour her anger out on… and she's definitely more fragile than she lets on. Damn it, I don't know how well I'll be able to handle this as I am…'_

Shaking his thoughts away, the exhausted Redcoat walked over and opened the door, coming face-to-face with a friend he could never turn away.

"What's wrong?" Leon asked, his tone and his eyes the only evidence that he was worried. "Is something bothering you?"

Tomoyo remained silent, further compounding Leon's worries. "Hey, Tomoyo… come on, what's wrong?"

Finally, the silver-gray-haired girl looked up, brief shock registering on her features at Leon's hair, undone and left to freely fall down his back.

"Can… can we talk…?" she asked quietly, a pleading, almost desperate, tone to her voice.

Leon was taken aback slightly. No, he definitely couldn't turn her away… not when she was this close to breaking.

"Sure, come on in," he said quietly, ushering Tomoyo into his room and closing the door. He gestured for the other Redcoat to take a seat on his bed, waiting for her to get comfortable. He remained standing at first, but decided it seemed too imposing and opted for a more personable approach, taking a seat next to the silver-gray-haired girl.

"So, what do you want to talk about…?" he asked softly, trying to soothe the girl beside him. He was worried – she was quiet at times, but she was always strong and confident. She'd never been like this before now.

"I heard your cries… in the Sentinel," Tomoyo said, surprising the golden-brown-haired Redcoat. "You were in pain… but you kept it all to yourself. Why don't you let us help you?"

Leon sighed, shaking away his momentary surprise as he looked up at the ceiling. "Listen…" he said quietly. "This isn't the first time I've lost someone… I didn't exactly have anyone to talk to the last time this happened, and I never exactly had someone to help me through it all. I suppose you could say that I learned how to deal with it… I just happened to learn it the hard way."

"I… I see…" Tomoyo replied quietly. "I… seem to have a habit of bringing up painful memories for you… I'm sorry."

Leon simply gave a reassuring smile. "It's fine, don't worry," he replied as he turned to look at Tomoyo. "However, I'm sure that's not the real reason you're here, is it…? You're nervous, Tomoyo. What's wrong?"

Tomoyo stopped cold, as if she'd just been caught. "Um… well…" she stuttered. She looked up at Leon, deep sapphire blue eyes filled with uncertainty. "Leon, I… There… there's something I need to tell you. But, I'm confused. I don't know how I truly feel about it, or how to go about it... I... I'm scared of how you might react to it."

Leon frowned thoughtfully when Tomoyo seemingly refused to elaborate. Anxiety and fear was coming off of her in waves. "Come on, what's wrong with you? We're friends, aren't we?" he said, trying to soothe the silver-gray-haired girl. "Don't worry… whatever it is you need to say, it won't destroy that friendship. I promise."

Tomoyo smiled slightly. "Thank you… Leon…" she said. "I just needed to say… I'm sorry."

With that, the silver-gray-haired girl pulled Leon towards her and kissed him.

Leon's eyes were wide in shock at the unfamiliar sensation, but they gently closed shut as the teen lost himself in the sweetness of Tomoyo's lips, his hands moving up and wrapping themselves around the girl's slender shoulders.

It was, quite possibly, the single longest moment in both their lives when they could have said all their other worries, their pain, their grief… everything… just melted away.

Tomoyo eventually pulled back, a smile on her face. "I'm sorry… for that, Leon Vanyel…" she said.

Leon gently placed a hand on the silver-gray haired girl's cheek. "Tomoyo… I…" he whispered, but the girl before him simply placed a finger against his lips, silencing him, as she took his hand in her own and laid it down on the bed.

"Don't…" she whispered. "I know I overstepped my bounds… I'm sorry. I just... Please, just come back alive tomorrow... I don't want to lose you..."

Having accomplished her goal of professing her feelings, the silver-gray-haired girl stood and fled Leon's room. The golden-brown-haired teen reached out a hand and tried to stop Tomoyo from leaving, but the girl was gone before he could even get a single word out.

Leon's shocked expression gave way to a sad smile. "Heh… didn't even bother to wait for me to answer…" he said. "You just had to have the last word, didn't you…?" He turned his gaze upwards, and let a few tears fall from his eyes. "Still... I'm sorry, Tomoyo. You have to know that I'm not worth it..."

* * *

The _Cousteau_

April 17, C.E. 71

"The sonar has picked something up!" the sensor officer of the _Cousteau_ called out. "Identifying… it's the legged ship!"

"Are you sure?" the ship's captain asked.

The sensor officer nodded. "There's no mistaking it, sir. It's the only ship of its size that can move over water."

The Captain moved over to the tactical board, where the remaining members of the Zala Team were waiting.

"They're heading for this small chain of islands here," the Captain said. "There isn't a lot of room to maneuver, making it the ideal place for you to set up an ambush."

Tomoyo narrowed her eyes. "That's true, but I'm sure they've already foreseen this possibility," she said. "There's not enough time to plan out a battle strategy here, so I'll do it on the move."

"That's fine by me," Yzak said. "Today's the day… Today's the day when we finish off the legged ship and its mobile suits for good."

Dearka nodded. "For Rusty, for Miguel, for your scar…" he said, before clenching his hand into a fist. "And for Nicol."

"This is for Nicol," Saul agreed, punching a fist into his palm. "They're going down."

"Let's get to it," Athrun said. "We're going to end this… once and for all!"

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

"Ma'am, enemy silhouettes detected!" Chandra said from his station in the CIC. "Identifying thermal patterns… it's those machines again."

"Mr. Alaric was right… They really are attacking," Murrue said. "All hands to Level One Battlestations!"

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Hangar

"_All hands to Level One Battlestations!"_ Sai's voice said over the ship's intercom. _"I repeat, all hands…"_

"Well, there you go. They've taken the bait, after all," John said from his GINN's cockpit. "All right, I know I'm not actually an officer on this ship… but I suggest that everyone stay close to the ship. I'm sure that they're going to try and force the ship down into the waters, where the islands will constrict her movement. We can't let that happen, or we're dead. Chris, make sure you stick close to Kira at all times, even if it forces you away from the rest of us. The enemy's sure to be out for his blood, and they won't care about the ship if they see an opportunity to isolate him."

"_Roger that,"_ the two teens replied before they launched from the catapults. Kira landed on the Raven's mobile armor form, using it as a flight platform.

"_Liz, you stick with me until an opening presents itself,"_ Mu said as his Launcher Skygrasper was moved into position in one catapult, the Guardian in the other. _"Tolle, you should stay on my wing at all times."_

"_Got it, Lieutenant,"_ Liz replied, shutting her visor. A moment later, they launched, followed by Tolle's Skygrasper. The GINN walked out onto the catapult before leaping up onto the rear deck of the _Archangel_, sniper rifle in hand. The Strike and Raven pulled up on one side of the ship while the Guardian and Skygraspers pulled up on another side.

In a matter of moments, the team of ZAFT mobile suits materialized out of the smoke. All that was needed was the first shot to be fired, and the fated, bitter battle would ensue.

"Let's go!" Dearka suddenly shouted, combining the Buster's guns into its hyper impulse sniper rifle and firing. Neumann evaded the beam while John returned fire with his sniper rifle, beginning yet another long-range contest between the Buster and the _Archangel_.

Yzak quickly spotted the Strike and Raven and charged in, firing his beam rifle at the Strike even as both mobile suit and mobile armor returned fire. Both Kira and Yzak had the same luck hitting each other, which is to say no luck at all, as they both either dodged the shots or intercepted them with their shields. However, that changed when they reached melee range, as the Strike drew an anti-ship sword while the Duel drew its beam saber. Both struck at the same time, crashing their weapons against the other's shield, before they broke off. The two circled each other, firing at each other – the Duel using its Shiva railgun and missile pod, the Strike with its cannons and railguns – before they closed to melee range once again.

The Buster and Zane's CGUE quickly seized on the opportunity Yzak had given them and began a relentless barrage on the _Archangel_, managing to score several hits. Neumann's skillful piloting, however, kept the damage to a minimum as the helmsman managed to evade the bulk of the ZAFT pilots' attacks. The two were forced to pull back, though, as the Skygraspers, John's GINN, and the Guardian fired on them.

Tomoyo's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I hope you're ready, legged ship… because I'm not going to hold anything back!" she said as she moved in towards the _Archangel_. Liz spotted the GINN and transformed to mobile suit mode, firing her hyper impulse rifle.

"Heh… think you're on target…?" Tomoyo said, a light dancing in her eyes. "Not a chance!" She pulled her GINN into a series of evasive maneuvers, dancing around each shot almost mockingly. Liz's eyes widened slightly in shock before she fired again, the _Archangel_'s defenses opening up on the GINN as well. The silver-gray-haired Redcoat's eyes continued to rapidly scan her targeting screen, her mind running through calculations and firing solutions with inhuman speed even as she continued to evade the fire from the Guardian and _Archangel_.

Tomoyo pulled the trigger as she dodged a shot from the Guardian's rifle, firing missiles, bullets and beams almost wildly… only for the missiles to effortlessly evade the ship's scattered CIWS fire. Every last shot connected with the _Archangel_, destroying three of the starboard CIWS guns and the starboard Valiant linear cannon and blasting a massive hole into the starboard leg of the ship, exposing the starboard catapult and the Lohengrin housed beneath it.

"No way, what is he…?" Liz asked as she quickly closed in with the GINN, firing her beam guns the whole way before transforming the Guardian to mobile suit mode and drawing a beam saber. Tomoyo easily dodged the fire and drew her GINN's sword, crashing it against the Guardian's beam saber.

"This is my true ability…" Tomoyo whispered as she pushed the Guardian off, trading shots and sword blows with it. "This is what makes me good only for the battlefield…"

Liz couldn't believe how formidable the GINN suddenly was. It was like its pilot had… flipped some sort of switch or something! It was just unreal how the GINN was matching her move for move and _still_ giving the _Archangel_ hell!

Meanwhile, the Sentinel and the Surge quickly moved in to join the battle between the Strike, Raven, and Duel. Both fired their beam rifles at the Earth Forces machines, forcing Kira and Chris to now divide their attention between the three enemies.

"Damn!" Chris swore as he pulled away from the near misses. "We'll need to split up, or they're just going to hound us to death!"

"_Right,"_ Kira said, storing his sword in favor of drawing his beam rifle once more.

However, before the Strike could leap free, missiles from the Duel streaked in towards the two mobile suits. There was no room for Chris to dodge… not at this distance.

Gritting his teeth, Kira leapt into the air and raised his shield, absorbing the impact as the missiles exploded against his shield and allowing Chris to move away from the explosion. His mind working at lightning speed, the brunet quickly took aim at the Duel with his beam rifle.

His aim was centered directly on the Duel's torso. One shot… and he'd never have to worry about the Duel again. But Nicol's words came back to him… telling him why the Duel's pilot, Yzak, had a vendetta against him.

Sometime… he'd need to talk to Yzak and settle their differences. Sometime soon… once this was all over.

Kira shifted his aim slightly, and pulled the trigger. A single beam lanced out, spearing through the Duel's left knee. The severed limb exploded, sending the Duel tumbling off its Guul and into the water. Unwilling to go down without a fight, Yzak took aim with the Shiva railgun and fired wildly on the Strike. Most of Yzak's shots went wide, missing the Strike entirely, but one shot managed to pierce the Strike's beam rifle, destroying it.

"Damn… she's really pulled the gloves off this time…" John muttered as the silver-white GINN continued to rain beams, high-caliber rounds, grenades, and missiles down on the _Archangel_ while fighting off the Guardian with apparent ease. He'd defeated that mobile suit and its pilot on two separate occasions, once in Africa and the other just outside Orb. She wasn't bad, by any means – in fact, she was quite talented and had an overwhelming amount of skill in handling heavy weapons… Still, what she was doing right now… it was just insane!

"_John, the Aegis and Sentinel are approaching from above!"_ Mu called out as he and Tolle continued to hold back the Buster. The GINN's head snapped up, its mono-eye flashing as it took aim and fired with its sniper rifle. The two mobile suits leapt off of their Guuls, the Aegis transforming into its mobile armor mode and firing the Scylla.

The _Archangel_ evaded, but the powerful mortar turned the port Valiant into slag before the linear cannon exploded, rocking the entire ship. The Aegis transformed back to its mobile suit mode as it descended alongside the Sentinel, the cerulean blue mobile suit firing its beam rifle and taking out two Igelstellungs and the Helldart launchers. Both units landed on their Guuls and spun, firing several shots into the _Archangel_'s engines, all done while evading sniper fire from the GINN High Maneuver.

"Damn it…" John swore. "This isn't good… Kira, Chris, we need help! The ship won't last much longer!"

At that moment, Dearka found an opening and combined the Buster's weapons into its anti-armor shotgun, firing it repeatedly at the _Archangel_'s engines and crippling it. The engines had sustained too much damage to be able to sustain the massive warship's lift. The _Archangel_ began to descend to one of the nearby islands.

"Ugh… damn it, I'm coming!" Chris said as he broke off from fighting the Sentinel and transformed the mobile armor mode, flying for the battered warship.

"Not a chance!" Saul said, leaping off his Guul and landing on top of the Raven, his beam rifle aimed straight down, poised to eliminate the midnight blue mobile armor.

Several missiles suddenly slammed into the Surge from behind, sending it flying off the Raven and down to the island below.

Chris breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks… Tolle…" he said, before an energy beam cut through the air right in front of him. He turned, and saw Zane's blood-red CGUE flying at him with an unmistakable fury.

"Zane!" he called out as he transformed the Raven into mobile suit mode, firing his railguns. Zane responded with his thermal cannon, and the battle between the two former friends began anew.

Elsewhere, Kira exchanged fire with Athrun, who suddenly leapt off his Guul and sent it flying at Kira. Athrun fired at his Guul, destroying it and causing an explosion that sent the Strike tumbling down towards the island where the _Archangel_ had crash-landed.

"Sitting duck," Dearka said as he swooped in on the vulnerable warship.

"Not today!" Mu said, appearing below the Buster and firing the Skygrasper's beam cannon. One of Mu's shots pierced the Guul, forcing Dearka to leap off. He combined his weapons into the anti-armor shotgun and exchanged fire with the Launcher Skygrasper's Agni hyper impulse cannon.

A round from the Buster's shotgun pierced through the Skygrasper's left engine at the same time that a shot from the Agni tore through the Buster's right shoulder, severing the arm completely.

Mu guided the Skygrasper to a crash-landing in shallow waters near the _Archangel_'s position, while the Buster crashed into a hill directly in front of the _Archangel_.

"Man, the hydro's knocked out… drive pulse is decreasing… no!" Dearka said as he tried to get the Buster to move. The mobile suit's only response was a warning from his main monitor, alerting him that the legged ship had both of its massive dual beam cannons trained on him.

'_Damn… they've got me in their sights…'_ Gritting his teeth, Dearka saw no other option left.

The cockpit hatch of the Buster opened and Dearka, sans helmet, stepped out and raised his hands above his head in a gesture of surrender, surprising the _Archangel_'s bridge crew.

Meanwhile, Chris and Zane circled each other, exchanging fire with dual railguns and thermal cannon.

Zane took careful aim with the thermal cannon. He couldn't miss this time! That mobile armor would never dodge!

But, as the cannon fired, the Raven suddenly shifted to mobile suit mode, allowing the energy beam to pass harmlessly between its left arm and torso, before returning fire with its shield cannon, destroying Zane's Guul.

"Damn," Zane muttered, leaping free as the flight platform exploded.

Lightning flashed across the sky and rain began to fall as the Strike crashed onto the island.

"For Nicol!" Athrun shouted, descending on the Strike. Kira blocked with his shield, and the two leapt away from each other before the Aegis again charged at the Strike with reckless abandon, completely ignoring the punishing volley of shots from the Strike's railguns and cannons.

"How could you do it, Kira?" Athrun shouted over the comm. line. "You murdered Nicol!"

"_No!"_ Kira replied. _"I__ didn–!"_

"SHUT UP! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Athrun roared as he charged in at the Strike with an almost complete disregard for his own safety.

* * *

Elsewhere

The Surge sped towards the _Archangel_. The only obstacle between Saul and the ship was that GINN High Maneuver Type. Tomoyo was holding the vastly superior Guardian off on her own, even if she was beginning to reach her limits, while Leon continued to keep the _Archangel_'s defensive fire focused on him. Still… it gave him an opening, one that he wouldn't miss.

Saul pulled the trigger, firing at the black GINN with an accuracy most would have considered lethal. But, John Alaric's reputation was well-deserved; he wasn't feared for nothing, as he was now demonstrating. He sidestepped the shot and returned fire with his sniper rifle, scoring the Surge's rifle. Saul tossed the weapon aside just before it exploded, and leapt up onto the deck of the _Archangel_, standing opposite the custom GINN.

"You should surrender while you're still ahead, kid," John said over an open comm. line.

"_Never!"_ the Surge's pilot replied as he drew his anti-armor swords. _"I'm not giving up that easily!"_

"Your machine may be superior to mine," John said calmly. "But you're still no match for me, kid!"

The Surge lunged forward and slashed with both swords. John quickly discarded his rifle and drew both of his own swords, parrying the Surge's attack.

The GINN delivered a kick to the Surge's torso, and John followed up by quickly lashing out with his left-hand sword, sending the Surge's smaller sword flying from its hand. Saul remained undaunted, however, managing to regain his wits. He hacked away the right arm of the Black Hawk's mobile suit with his remaining sword before slamming the Surge's shoulder into the GINN, sending the mobile suit falling to the deck as its remaining sword flew free, landing in the shoreline a couple dozen meters away.

"_I told you!"_ Saul said, standing over the GINN. _"I'm not giving up that easily!"_

"You may not give up… but you let your guard down too easily, boy!" John replied as he sprang a beam saber from the GINN's forearm.

"_Wha-?"_ Saul gasped, but he was far too late to do anything. Before his mind could register it, the Surge's right forearm and its remaining sword were sent flying. Another slash took off the Surge's left arm at the shoulder, before one final slash cut through the Surge's shins, sending it falling to the ground.

"It's over, kid," John said, placing his beam saber a few feet away from the cockpit. "Power down and step out of the cockpit."

Saul sighed. Just like the man said… it was over. He could admit to that. He powered down the Surge and opened the cockpit hatch, upon which the GINN raised its beam saber away from the cockpit.

"I surrender," Saul said as he stepped out, hands raised and helmet removed just like Dearka before him.

* * *

Meanwhile

The Strike and the Aegis continued to battle. From the valley they fought in, both could see the Guardian and GINN continuing their clash, trading shots and sword strikes as they maneuvered through the air. On a nearby hill, the Raven and CGUE fought tooth and nail for every inch of ground they could get, before they moved away, a mountain blocking both groups from the other's view.

Kira, though, found himself being beaten back by Athrun. He was fighting like he was possessed. Kira was struggling just to defend himself from the attacks. If he couldn't…

"_Kira!"_ a voice suddenly called out over the comm. line.

"Tolle, no!" shouted Kira as the second Skygrasper appeared in the skies overhead. "Stay back!"

The Skygrasper opened fire on the Aegis, but the red mobile suit evaded the missile and beams, leapt into the air, and threw its shield at the fighter. Time seemed to slow for Kira as he watched the shield spin towards the fighter, which, in a last ditch effort to avoid it, turned to the side.

Tolle didn't stand a chance, not with the rapidly spinning shield that close to him. The Aegis' shield slammed into the Skygrasper, cutting into the fighter just behind the cockpit. The Skygrasper exploded, consuming Tolle in a fireball.

"Tolle!" Kira screamed, the image of the Aegis' shield colliding with Tolle's Skygrasper replaying itself in his mind a dozen times. That, combined with Athrun's stubborn refusal to listen to him, finally drove him over the edge. As Kira shed tears, an amethyst, jewel-like seed shattered behind his eyes.

* * *

Liz continued to find herself hard-pressed fighting the silver-white GINN. She was down to her beam sabers and hyper impulse rifle, having already exhausted her supply of grenades. The GINN, too, was out of ammo for its gatling guns and missiles, leaving it with just her beam rifle, sword, and grenade launchers. The two mobile suits continued to exchange shots as they circled each other, Liz using her shield to absorb what shots she couldn't dodge.

The brunette transformed the Guardian into mobile armor mode and charged, deploying its wing-mounted beam blades. Tomoyo responded by detaching her GINN from the Guul and leaping over the Guardian's form, landing back on the flight platform and firing at the mobile armor as it circled around for another pass.

As she approached, Liz maneuvered through the GINN's shots, utilizing the Guardian's sheer agility to its fullest. When she reached melee range, Liz shifted the Guardian to mobile suit mode and drew a beam saber, clashing against the GINN's sword once more.

The GINN suddenly brought its hand up to the Guardian's chest plate and fired its dual rocket-propelled grenade launchers at point-blank range. The powerful explosives detonated against the Guardian, sending it falling from the sky and slamming into the ground a couple of dozen meters away from the _Archangel_. Tomoyo took aim with her beam rifle and began to pull the trigger…

A shot suddenly rang out, piercing the GINN's rifle and destroying it. Liz turned, wide-eyed, to the source. The GINN stood atop the _Archangel_'s rear deck, its sniper rifle held in a one-handed grip.

"_Liz! You've got your opening! Take it!"_

The brunette nodded, drawing her hyper impulse rifle and firing successive shots at the disoriented mobile suit. Liz's shots struck true, tearing through the GINN's left forearm, right shoulder, right knee, and chest.

Explosions tore apart the GINN, setting off several smaller explosions within its cockpit and sending shrapnel flying out at Tomoyo. The silver-gray-haired girl screamed in pain as several razor-sharp metal shards of varying sizes and shapes pierced deep into her body, quickly drawing large amounts of blood that began to seep into her uniform. One piece managed to spear through her visor at an angle, shattering it and cutting into the right side of Tomoyo's forehead, leaving a large amount of blood to trickle down the right side of her face.

"_Tomoyo? Come in!"_ Leon's voice suddenly said, bringing a miniscule, pain-filled smile to her lips. _"Tomoyo! Are you alright? Answer me!"_

The girl brought a trembling hand up to her helmet, coughing up blood as she did so, and tore it off to keep her view unobstructed. The cockpit was in horrible shape, with most of the main monitor and the left side of the main control panel irreparably damaged. She didn't need to look down to know that she'd been wounded badly… she knew the feeling anywhere. She reached out with her other hand, even as her nerves screamed out in protest, and hit the comm. switch.

"Looks like… my fight's… over…" she whispered, blood trickling from the corner of her lips. "Leon… I…"

* * *

Leon's eyes widened as Tomoyo's voice trailed off. _'No… It can't be… Not her… anyone but her…!'_

"Tomoyo?" he called, trying to raise the girl on the comm. line once more. "Tomoyo?" Everything was suddenly in the background as fear for Tomoyo overrode everything else in his mind.

When no reply came, tears came to his eyes as an ice-cold fist gripped his heart.

"No… Tomoyo…" Leon whispered, before he cried out in grief, slamming his fist into his main console.

"GOD DAMN IT!" he screamed, his tears falling onto his visor. "Tomoyo… Why am I so useless? WHY THE HELL AM I SO DAMNED POWERLESS THAT I CAN'T EVEN PROTECT MY FRIENDS?"

Leon let out a heart-rending cry… before a sudden calm clarity settled itself on his mind. He continued to shake as his tears fell, further obscuring his visor, before he closed his eyes and removed his helmet, setting it aside. When the Redcoat opened his eyes, Leon's crystal blue irises seemingly flickered once, before they melted away, leaving two golden, radiant orbs in their place.

His eyes shone with a fiery brilliance… and, as he narrowed them, there was no mistaking the pain and fury those golden orbs held within them… the pain and fury brought on by his sense of loss and overwhelming grief.

The Sentinel's crimson eyes flashed to life as Leon cut apart his Guul with his beam glaives and descended to the ground, slamming the throttle down and soaring towards the Guardian at maximum speed. As he closed in, Leon combined the beam glaives into their double glaive form before dancing around shots from the Guardian and GINN. As he wove through the storm of fire, Leon drew his beam rifle and returned fire, sending a single blind shot out in the direction of the _Archangel_, catching John by surprise as it speared through his GINN's remaining hand.

Leon tossed aside his rifle and ducked underneath a shot from the Guardian before rising up and slashing with the double glaive's rear end. The Guardian blocked with its shield, keeping itself in one piece, but that suited Leon just fine as he separated the two beam glaives and twisted the Sentinel around the Guardian's shield before slicing right through the other mobile suit's hyper impulse rifle.

Liz quickly discarded the rifle before it exploded, drawing her beam saber and taking a counter-swing at the Sentinel. Leon was already in motion long before the Guardian had swung its beam saber, using one glaive to deflect the Guardian's attack, leaving the other free to slice through the underside of the Guardian's shield. Liz quickly drew her other beam saber, and began a furious duel with the Sentinel, attacking with reckless abandon.

Leon danced through the Guardian's attacks, his golden eyes shedding tears as he continued to push himself and the Sentinel to the utter limit. A single swipe with his right-hand glaive knocked away the saber in the Guardian's right hand, Liz raising her remaining saber in anticipation of a strike from the same direction. Leon suddenly spun the Sentinel in the other direction with unnatural ferocity, the Gs slamming him against one side of the cockpit as he avoided the blow and struck from the Guardian's vulnerable side, his left-hand glaive tearing through the Guardian's forearms.

Still moving faster than Liz could react, Leon combined the beam glaives into the double glaive and attacked, aiming at the Guardian's legs. Liz leapt back, narrowly evading the attack, but Leon continued his relentless persecution, spinning and throwing the double glaive before firing out his right-arm Ouroboros at the Guardian. The thrown double glaive cleaved through the Guardian's left knee as the Ouroboros latched onto the Guardian's torso. Leon leapt up at the Guardian, activating his left-arm Hydros. The crimson beam blade flashed through the air, severing the transformable mobile suit's remaining leg. Leon retracted the Ouroboros, drawing the Guardian in, and connected with a pair of vicious kicks, sending the defeated mobile suit crashing into the ground.

* * *

Chris, while unable to see how Kira was faring, had witnessed the decisive defeat handed to Liz by the Sentinel.

"Liz!" he shouted in desperation. No… not after his parents… not after everyone else… he couldn't lose Liz, too! Images of his time on Junius Seven – with his parents and friends – flashed through his mind, followed shortly by the colony's fiery demise during the Bloody Valentine. His gaze wandered to the origami flower he'd stuck on the Raven's main console… that little girl who'd given the flower to him, Elle… Zane's willingness to shoot down a shuttle full of civilians just before getting pulled out by the Aegis, only for the shuttle to be destroyed by the Duel…

"I've already lost too much to this damned war… and I refuse to lose anyone else!" he yelled as something snapped within him, a new power surging forth from the very core of his being and expanding his consciousness.

He turned back to the crimson CGUE – Zane's CGUE – and drew both beam sabers, charging into melee combat. Zane leapt back, dodging the Raven's initial attack, and fired his thermal cannon. Chris twisted the Raven out of the beam's path and sliced through the cannon's barrel before pressing his attack. Chris seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he'd just taken away Zane's only real means of killing him, and simply continued attacking like a possessed animal, hacking off the CGUE's left arm at the elbow.

'_What the hell…? What switch did he just throw?'_ Zane thought. He grit his teeth, rage bubbling up inside of him.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" he shouted. "I _refuse_ to lose to you and that machine ever again!"

Zane's rage finally reached its limit and exploded outwards, pouring from every fiber of his being as he subconsciously felt his awareness expanding to something he'd never felt before.

"I… will… not… lose… TO YOU!" Zane roared, snatching up his sword while pulling the trigger for the missile pod – a weapon he'd practically forgotten after finding out that it was almost worthless against the Raven. Missiles streaked out at the Raven, but Chris pressed onwards, racing in towards Zane.

The two struck at the same time. Zane's sword pierced through the Raven's right-side Ahura Mazda, severing the weapon from the midnight blue mobile suit's body, while the Raven's sabers cut away the left shoulder, leaving Zane completely defenseless.

Cursing, the Redcoat pulled back while Chris set his sights on another target – the Sentinel. He hit his thrusters and charged for the cerulean mobile suit, brandishing both beam sabers with a never-before-seen fury.

* * *

Meanwhile, the battle between Kira and Athrun had become just as vicious and bloodthirsty as all the others.

"ATHRUN!" Kira shouted as the two friends – now bitter enemies – charged each other. Kira deflected Athrun's right beam saber with his shield before quickly using his anti-ship blade to sever the Aegis' left arm at the shoulder before Athrun could put it to use. The Strike then kicked the Aegis in the head, sending it flying back, though Athrun managed to keep his machine on its feet before leaping into the air, away from the furiously pursuing Strike. Athrun evaded wildly as the Strike fired its railguns, cannons, and shield-mounted gatling at the Aegis.

Athrun grit his teeth. He'd finally driven Kira over the edge… Now, his friend – no, his enemy! – knew what it was like!

"I'm going to…" Athrun said as the Strike began to descend on him. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" A green jewel-like seed rushed through Athrun's mind before shattering behind his eyes.

Athrun activated the beam sabers in his machine's feet and flew forward, no longer caring about the attacks from the railguns and cannons. All he cared about… was defeating – no, _killing_ – Kira.

The Aegis kicked at the Strike, the beam saber severing the Strike's left arm, but Kira remained undaunted. The Strike's sword flashed forward, cutting through the Aegis's head, ripping it off. Athrun again swung a leg at the Strike, his beam saber this time tearing open the Strike's chest, exposing the cockpit.

"ATHRUN!" Kira roared, no longer seeing his former friend… but his mortal enemy.

"KIRA!" Athrun roared back as he transformed the Aegis into its mobile armor form, surging forward and grabbing the Strike with its claws. He pulled the trigger for the Scylla, and the weapon charged, ready to fire a mortar straight through Athrun's enemy… but the charge died as the Aegis' Phase Shift Armor faded from red to gray. Athrun glared at his power meter, finding it to be running on empty.

No! It couldn't end like this!

The Strike struggled, and Athrun saw the machine look at the Aegis – at him. Kira was as ready to kill him as he was ready to kill Kira.

Athrun had sworn, though. He'd sworn to kill Kira… and he would go to any lengths to make that oath a reality.

The ultramarine-haired Coordinator keyed in a special numbered code, activating the Aegis's self-destruct. With barely any time remaining, Athrun opened the cockpit hatch and ejected.

* * *

The Sentinel's Hydros beam blades clashed against the Raven's beam sabers, two crimson blades locked against two pink blades in a struggle for dominance.

"You hurt her…" Chris said over the comm. line. "I'm not going to let you just do as you please and hurt my sister!"

"I apologize, but you're not the only one who's fighting for something here!" Leon retorted. "Don't think I fight just because I'm told to do it!" As he said this, a sudden brilliance filled his golden irises as they suddenly shone with a radiant power that emanated from the very core of his soul.

The Redcoat suddenly increased the thruster output, breaking the deadlock and pushing the Raven back. The Sentinel's left-hand Hydros flashed through the air, severing the Raven's left arm at the shoulder. Not content with just that, Leon swung again with the blade, aiming for the Raven's torso, Chris blocking the more powerful weapon with his remaining beam saber.

"Then we're more alike than you might think!" Chris shouted back as he broke the deadlock and lashed out with his beam saber, severing the Sentinel's right leg at the knee. "I'm just fighting to protect what little family and friends I have left!"

"I hate to say it, but I don't have anything worth fighting for!" Leon said. The Sentinel leapt up into the air, lashing out with the right-arm Ouroboros.

"Then why the hell _are_ you fighting?" Chris yelled, dodging the Ouroboros claw before striking at the armored line extension. While the extension was layered in Phase Shift Armor like the rest of the claw, the beam saber still cut through it like paper, severing the claw from the Sentinel's arm.

"I fight simply because it's all I can do! I'm fighting _to find something to live for_!" Leon shot back, jettisoning the remains of the right-arm Ouroboros before stabbing forward with his remaining Hydros. The blade speared through the right side of the Raven's faceplate, tearing the head off.

"What? That's your reason?" Chris said, retaliating by slicing through the Sentinel's neck, taking the cerulean mobile suit's head off as well and leaving both Gundams headless.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand!" Leon said, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as he brought the Sentinel's right hand up in a punch that connected with the Raven's midsection. "But I will stand by my decision to protect others from being drawn into this war… that's all that ever really mattered to me!" Leon followed up with a quick burst from his thrusters, using his remaining leg to kick the midnight blue mobile suit, sending it careening into the sand. "That's why I can't lose here!"

Chris quickly righted the Raven, landing on its feet. "I feel the same!" he shot back, firing his railguns at the Sentinel. "As long as I've got people depending on me, then I'm going to keep fighting to protect them! I'll defeat you, by my own will!" Chris brandished his remaining beam saber and charged forward.

"Well said… RAVEN!" Leon shouted, raising his Hydros and firing his thrusters at full power. As they charged, the Aegis powered down, Athrun escaping from it a moment later.

With a war cry, Leon brought his Hydros beam blade up at the same instant that Chris stabbed his beam saber forward. Both mobile suits connected, the Sentinel's beam blade stabbing through the Raven's chest while the Raven's beam saber tore through the right side of the Sentinel's torso. Both mobile suits moved forward, leaning against each other and seemingly catching each other in an embrace as time slowed to a halt.

"Liz... Flay..." Chris whispered, closing his eyes as a blinding light overtook him.

Within the Sentinel, Leon smiled with regret.

"Hanako… I'm sorry… for failing you as a brother…" the golden-eyed teen whispered. "Tomoyo… I found an answer… I'm sorry I just couldn't give you yours…"

A series of massive explosions lit up the area as the Aegis detonated, the Raven and Sentinel exploding barely a moment later, consuming all three mobile suits along with the Strike in the fiery, merciless conflagration.

* * *

**Author's Notes: And… there we go. Makoto's visions came true, with Kira getting caught up in that massive blast at point-blank range, while Chris and Leon both met in a final, titanic clash of wills. We all know Kira survived in canon, but who's to say if Chris and Leon survived their fight, especially with the severe damage both machines have taken. It's rather interesting how we haven't even answered half the mysteries still surrounding Leon… but who's to say that everything should always be answered?**

**There will be lots of pain and heartache for the survivors, most especially for Tomoyo, who'd finally worked up the courage to confess… and steal a kiss at the same time from the SEEMINGLY now-deceased teen she'd fallen for. Let's just say that… things are not going to be pretty for her, not for a long time…**

**I suppose we'll all just have to wait and see what the future has in store for everyone, won't we?**

**As usual, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you'll all be willing to leave me with a review! I appreciate hearing from my readers!**

**Ja ne!**

…


	19. Phase 19: Grieving Skies

**Ah… finally. I apologize to all my readers (well, assuming there are still some of you left). College isn't funny, and let me tell you that it really had me pressed for time – so much that I could barely get 6 hours of sleep a day. However, now that my term's over and I'm on Christmas break (my first time since May that I haven't had school for more than 4 days in a row), I can focus on making up for some lost time.  
**

**At any rate, I made some adjustments to the final scenes of the last chapter, so you might want to check it out before moving along here, since it will give a better picture of what just happened here.  
**

**In this chapter, we get to the aftermath of the clash in the Marshall Islands, and you can expect a couple of changes here and there because of how events in previous chapters have turned out. There are a lot of things I could discuss, but I won't waste you're time up here when you can better spend it reading the chapter.  
**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoy. Once again, I hope a good deal of my readers will leave reviews. Either way, I'm going to keep writing, but it would still be great to receive them anyways.**

**Disclaimer: Check previous chapters, as usual, please. They're going to get longer in a few chapters, so I'm trying to save up for when it gets to that point.**

* * *

Phase Nineteen: Grieving Skies

April 17, C.E. 71

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

The bridge crew was completely silent save for Miriallia who continued to try and raise the Strike, Raven, and Skygrasper on the comm. line. They'd all seen the massive explosions just beyond the mountain range, all contact with the two mobile suits having been lost as soon as it had happened, with the Skygrasper's signal having disappeared barely a few minutes before that.

"Kira! Kira? Do you read me? Answer me!" Mir said into the comm. line, growing increasingly desperate. "Chris? What's wrong, Chris? Please respond! Tolle? Do you read me, Tolle?"

A hand suddenly reached over and hit a key on Mir's console, shutting off the comm. unit. Mir turned to look over her shoulder and saw Lieutenant Badgiruel.

Even the hardened military officer looked regretful. "Don't… That's enough…" she said softly.

"Lieutenant…" she whispered. Natarle looked to the side and grit her teeth.

"I'm sorry… I'm going to have to list Ensign Yamato, Ensign Christopher Dante, and Crewman 2nd Class Koenig as MIA," Natarle said.

Mir suddenly froze. "MIA…?" she echoed. "You mean… dead…? They… they can't be…"

Murrue looked back regretfully, before she returned her attention to her duties as the ship's captain. "Have we retrieved the Buster, Surge, and Guardian?" she asked.

"Mr. Alaric's already brought the Guardian and Surge in, and we're almost finished loading up the Buster," Natarle replied as she retook her seat, not enthusiastic but still refusing to give up right there – not while they all still needed someone to be stable and calm. "We also managed to capture their pilots." She turned to the CIC. "What's the ship's status? How much damage have we taken?"

"It's actually not as bad as I thought," Jackie Tonomura replied. "This is just a temporary fix… but we've got 40% of our power back."

Before Murrue could issue new orders, signals lit up from Flay's console, but the girl was petrified with shock, her tears flowing as she cried quietly to herself. Chandra quickly looked over his shoulder, and typed in a couple of commands on the redhead's keyboard, switching control of her station over to his station as well.

"We have incoming contacts – three of them. Checking thermal patterns… They're DINNs, ma'am!" Chandra said. "They'll be on us in fifteen minutes!"

"Prepare to intercept them!" Murrue ordered.

"We can't," Natarle replied, her tone and expression letting everyone know just how frustrated she was with the whole situation, which was more than anyone had ever expected. "The only weapons we have left are the Gottfrieds and the Lohengrins, and they're not even operating at half-efficiency. We won't last ten minutes if we stay and fight… We need to get out of here now."

"Wait! What about Kira and Tolle?" Mir cried, standing up from her seat and tearing off her headset. "We can't leave them here!"

"I know that!" Natarle snarled as she slammed a hand on the armrest of her chair, startling the rest of the crew with the display of emotion. "We've got nothing to fight back with! I don't want to leave them behind, either… but staying to look for them is going to get us all killed and make their efforts all meaningless!"

Mir, most of her hopes crushed by the reality of their situation, simply bolted from the bridge. No one stopped her – no one had the heart to even try.

"Captain, we're ready to take off," Neumann said unenthusiastically.

Murrue nodded, but turned to Romero Pal. "What were the last known coordinates for the Strike, Raven, and Skygrasper?"

"But Captain, we're out of time!" Natarle argued. "If we stay and look for them, then we'll be risking the _Archangel_, her crew, and the remaining G-weapons! I don't like the thought of leaving them to their deaths, either, but…"

"I'm aware of that, Lieutenant Badgiruel," Murrue replied, before turning back to Pal. "Send out an SOS – along with the coordinates – to Orb, and ask them to organize a search party."

"Orb?" Natarle asked, and she suddenly felt a bit of gratitude for whatever circumstances had placed Murrue Ramius in the captain's seat. In this situation, Natarle hadn't even thought of sending out a request for a search, least of all to Orb.

"Yes, Orb," Murrue answered. "I'm sure they'll willingly accept – they're being asked to save lives."

Natarle nodded, and hid a small smile. "Yes, ma'am…" she said, more than happy to comply with the order.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Hangar

Mir slowly walked up to the simulator that Tolle had spent so much time in.

"Tolle…?" she called out, tears in her eyes.

Mu, his expression regretful, approached the grieving girl. Mir turned to look at him, and Mu felt his heart tear open at the sight of her defeated expression.

"Where's Tolle…?" she asked the fighter ace.

Mu had no reply for her. He hated these situations… because he never knew what to say, and he never knew how to offer someone comfort.

'_That's because there isn't any comfort to be offered in situations like this, you idiot,'_ he thought to himself.

"Tolle can't be dead…" Mir sobbed. "He can't be… he just… can't… because… because…"

Mir sank to her knees and cried. Mu reached out a hand to console the girl in her time of grief, but drew himself back at the last moment. Instead, he punched the simulator as hard as he could in frustration and grief, not caring how he might regret it later on.

"Damn it!" he said. There was nothing he could do to help Mir… there was nothing he could do to help anybody!

Up on the catwalks, Liz – miraculously unharmed despite the state of the Guardian – stared at the empty racks where the Strike, Raven, and Guardian had once stood… The remains of her Guardian were lying on the hangar floor, Chief Murdoch having already deemed the mobile suit irreparably damaged and impossible to put back together unless they replaced virtually the entire unit. The Strike and the Raven…

They were gone. Kira was gone… _Chris_ was gone… Now she only had her grandfather left… Why…? Why did it have to be them…?

"Chris… please… come back… don't leave me all alone…" she whispered as she sank to the ground, tears streaming down her face. "Losing Mom and Dad… it was already too much… Please… don't let me lose you, too…"

* * *

Reverend Malchio's Orphanage

"Reverend Malchio! There's a man collapsed on the ground over there!" one of the children suddenly cried as he rushed up to Malchio, who was sitting on the porch of his orphanage. The blind man immediately stood from his chair – he'd sensed the change long before the child had run up shouting.

"Where?" he asked calmly. "Where is he?"

"Over there!" the boy yelled, pointing out where the man was even if Malchio was blind, but the orphanage caretaker walked as if he knew where he was going, using his other senses and a walking stick to guide him. The other children under Malchio's care followed him, intrigued by their companion's claims.

Indeed… there was a man collapsed on the ground, and, if his labored breathing and slight moans and whimpers were anything to go by, Malchio could guess that this young man was very badly injured. He knelt down and felt the boy's body, but a sudden feeling coursed through his veins, and let him know just who and what this boy was.

"Okay, kids…" he said. "I need you to help me carry him!"

A few minutes later, they'd brought the young man in and treated his wounds as best they could, though his condition was far from stable. Malchio knew that he'd eventually have to bring the injured man to a hospital – his simple orphanage just didn't have all the necessary facilities and supplies needed to treat injuries as severe as this.

Suddenly, Malchio sensed a familiar presence – a person he hadn't met for quite a long while – just before a knock came at the door. Frowning, he walked back to the door and opened it, and was surprised when the person on the other side simply collapsed in.

He frowned – he'd already considered calling off his meeting with Siegel Clyne because of the young man…

Now, it looked like the choice was already out of his hands.

* * *

Onboard the _Cousteau_

"Captain!" Yzak demanded as he made his way onto the bridge. "Why the hell are we moving? Athrun, Dearka, Saul, and Leon haven't returned yet!"

"They're all missing, I'm afraid," the captain replied simply. "We've also received orders from Commander Le Creuset to return to base."

"Missing? What do you mean 'missing'?" Yzak asked.

"What else do you think it means?" Zane said from where he was leaning against a wall. His eyes – a hard, cold glint in them – were fixated on the screens. "Dearka and Saul were probably shot down, while Athrun and Leon probably killed themselves taking out the Strike and Raven."

"WHAT?" Yzak shouted. "What the hell are you talking about, Scirocco?"

"While I was retreating, I saw Athrun grab the Strike with the Aegis and activate its self-destruct system," the other Redcoat replied. "He bailed out right after, but I doubt he was able to escape the blast radius… I didn't exactly see who got caught in the explosion, but we can at least assume he took the Strike out with that. On my way out, I also witnessed the Sentinel and Raven deal critical damage to each other, and an explosion from their general vicinity came right after. I can only assume that Leon didn't make it out alive, not when he was that close to the blast."

Yzak ignored Zane. "Captain, turn this ship around _right now_!" he yelled. "There's no way all four of them are dead; they're the pride of ZAFT! We don't wear these red uniforms for nothing! Are you absolutely sure?"

"We've been trying to make contact for the past hour, but we've gotten no replies," the captain replied, taking care in choosing his words to avoid aggravating the furious Redcoat standing before him.

Yzak turned on his heel. "Damn it, then I'm going to go and find them myself!"

"As I've already said, Commander Le Creuset has ordered us to return to base, and it's primarily because Ms. Asahara is in need of serious medical attention. We don't have the proper facilities to treat her onboard the _Cousteau_…. I'm sure you're aware of that. You don't want to endanger her life, do you?"

Yzak was about to yell, but mention of Tomoyo's condition quickly shut him up. His thoughts went back to when Zane had brought the remains of Tomoyo's GINN onboard. He'd had to help the hangar and medical crews cut the unconscious girl free from the mangled wreck of her GINN's cockpit, and, when he'd seen the extent of her injuries, he'd nearly choked. Much of Tomoyo's silver-gray hair had been stained red with blood, along with most of the right side of her face, and if her pilot suit hadn't been red to begin with, Yzak was sure it would have turned red from whatever color it had started life as. Even with the shrapnel lodged in her wounds slowing the flow of blood, the amount of blood she'd lost was simply staggering.

It was nothing less than a miracle that she was still breathing, and Yzak knew that getting her to Carpentaria was the only way to make sure that she _stayed_ breathing.

Instead of furthering what he realized was a useless argument, Yzak simply bit out a vicious curse and stormed out, heading for the _Cousteau_'s infirmary. With everyone else gone, he was currently the only one around to look after Tomoyo. If they were around, he could hear each and every one of them telling him to take care of those he could, rather than search for people he probably couldn't find. Yes, he'd definitely watch over her… he owed Tomoyo – and Leon – that much.

* * *

The _Archangel_

"Well… this is one fine mess we've gotten ourselves into…" Saul said mildly.

"Shut up," said a guard, sounding plenty irritated and ready to pull the trigger to alleviate some of his frustrations.

Saul and Dearka had been taken to one of the legged ship's locker rooms, where they were stripped of their ZAFT pilot suits and given simple white prisoner's clothes to wear. Right after, the two pilots' hands had been tied behind their backs. Now, they were simply waiting for orders to come down on where they were to be placed, with nothing more than a pair of rather irate guards watching them.

"You're charming, you know that?" Dearka said. "The macho act must really get a lot of ladies."

"I said –!"

"Okay, that's enough," a man said as he entered the room. Unlike everyone else the two pilots had seen on the ship, he wasn't wearing an Earth Forces uniform. Instead, he simply donned a black vest, black pants, and a dark trench coat. Saul looked closely at the man – there was something strangely familiar about him… What it was, he couldn't say, but he knew this man from somewhere.

The older man sighed. "More kids…" he muttered. "You would think that ZAFT would entrust those machines to older and more experienced pilots…"

Saul narrowed his eyes. "You… seem familiar," he told the man. "And I mean _really_ familiar. I could swear that I've seen you before."

The man smirked. "I could say the same about you," he replied. "What's your name, kid?"

Saul sighed – there was no harm in telling him… he hoped. "Saul Kessel."

"Saul Kessel? _Kessel_?" the man said incredulously, before he started laughing. "_You're_ Diana Kessel's little brother? The one she's always complaining about? Yes, yes, that's right… I recognize you now. You're the lazy slacker she keeps mentioning."

"_Hacker_… I'm the lazy _hacker_," Saul replied. "Know the difference, will you? And even then, what about me being Diana Kessel's brother? What if I am?"

"Heh… still don't recognize me, kid?" the man asked, prompting Saul to look even harder. The ZAFT Redcoat's eyes searched the man's features… before they suddenly widened in recognition.

"No way… it can't be!" he said. "But… you're dead!"

Dearka looked between Saul and the man incredulously. "Okay, I'm more than just a little confused," he said as the man began laughing once more. "Just who the heck is this guy? Saul, do you know him?"

Saul glowered. "Yeah… though I have _no_ idea how he's standing here when he's been reported dead for over half a year."

"Well… I suppose I should reintroduce myself since I'm actually _not_ dead," the man said, before raising his hand in a mock ZAFT salute. "I'm John Alaric, founder and former Commander of the ZAFT Alaric Team. Does the name "Black Hawk of ZAFT" ring any bells?"

"What the –?" Dearka said incredulously. "You mean you're really _the_ Black Hawk?"

"Yeah… it's definitely him," Saul replied. "It's no wonder now why he's such a good shot."

"But… hold on a sec," Dearka suddenly said. "You're a Coordinator! Why are you fighting for the Earth Forces?"

John chuckled. "I have my reasons," he replied. "None of which I have to explain to you… not that you'd understand them even if I did."

"Does my sister know you've gone traitor?" Saul asked, once again prompting John to chuckle.

"Diana knows – she was the first one to find out," John replied. "She, along with every last member of the Alaric Team, knows. They've been assisting me all this time, after all. Besides, we're not traitors – we're more like patriots… except we're just doing things our own way – that is to say… a little bit differently from everybody else."

"And what do you mean when you say 'doing things your own way'?" Dearka questioned.

John sighed. "There are times when the best way to serve your nation is to act against those in power who do not keep in mind and heart their nation's best interests," he said. "It's fine if you don't understand right now. You'll figure it out in time." The ex-ZAFT commander then turned to the two guards. "The captain wants the doctor to have a look at these two before we bring them to the brig."

Barely half a minute later, John was leading Dearka and Saul through the _Archangel_'s corridors, the two guards behind the captured pilots constantly keeping their weapons trained in case either one decided to try something.

The five passed by a small group of the ship's crew members, and Dearka caught sight of a pretty brown-haired girl among them… though the sad expression on her face just didn't seem suited to her. It was that kind of empty, hopeless expression that just gnawed at the blonde Coordinator's guts and made him hold his tongue from whatever smart remark was forming in his mind.

He simply sighed and continued walking, oblivious to Saul's scrutiny as the other teen gave him a curious, steady stare.

* * *

Clyne Residence

Aprilius One

A few hours later

"Lady Lacus… a message from Reverend Malchio has arrived…" Foster, the Clyne family's head butler, said as he gestured towards the terminal on a table beside him.

The pink-haired songstress looked up at the aging man and frowned worriedly.

"Oh, no…" she said. "But my father won't be home until tonight…"

"It might be an urgent matter," Foster said. "Perhaps… you should take a look at it, Milady."

Lacus nodded. "I… I suppose that I should," she said, sitting down and opening the message. The screen immediately resolved itself into the features of Reverend Malchio.

"_I'm very sorry, Master Siegel…"_ Malchio's image said. _"But I won't be able to make it to that meeting we were supposed to have."_ Malchio's image moved, showing a young, heavily-bandaged brunet lying on a bed behind him. _"I came across a young man who was very badly injured, and another one was brought to my doorstep a few minutes after I brought the first boy in… There's no way they can be treated here. I'm going to have to take them somewhere with more advanced medical facilities."_

Lacus gasped, an icy fist tightening around her heart.

'_Kira…?'_ she thought, her heart almost stopping as she gazed at Kira's face, a pained expression painting his features with an uncomfortable grimace even as he slept.

'_So… I probably won't be able to make it to the PLANTs for two or three more days. Please, forgive me,"_ Malchio concluded, but Lacus was completely oblivious to those words. The only thing in her mind right now… was Kira and the condition he was in.

"Kira… is hurt…" she whispered, clenching a hand. She suddenly turned to Foster, who was preparing tea at the room's counter.

"Foster!" she called, standing up and walking over. "Can you get a hold of Reverend Malchio for me as soon as possible?"

"I beg your pardon, Milady?" Foster said, surprise etched on his features.

"You heard the message, didn't you?" Lacus said. When Foster nodded, she continued. "Those young men Reverend Malchio mentioned in his message… they're acquaintances of mine. Please, tell Reverend Malchio to have them brought here instead… and call my father, too. Ask him to send for a doctor – the best we can find."

Foster's confusion melted away to be replaced by a sense of urgency. "Y-yes, Milady!" he said, bowing before he left the room.

Lacus turned and looked out a window, placing her hand on the glass as a sudden determination filled her strong, sky-blue eyes.

'_Kira… you helped me before. Now, it's my turn to help you.'_

* * *

Onboard an Orb transport plane

April 18, C.E. 71

Athrun groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, shutting them as soon as he caught a glimpse of sunlight opening them again, much slower this time. He sat up, groaning once again as his nerves screamed in pain from his injuries.

"So… it looks like you're awake," a familiar voice said. Athrun turned his head, and found Cagalli Yula Athha standing on the other side of the room, holding up a gun and leveling it right at him.

"At the moment, you're onboard an Orb aircraft," she continued as she moved closer. "We found you lying unconscious on the shoreline, and decided to take you in."

"What does a neutral nation like Orb want with me?" Athrun asked. "Or… am I actually in the hands of the Earth Forces now?"

"There's something I have to know," Cagalli said, ignoring Athrun's questions. "Were you the one who destroyed the Strike?"

Athrun felt a hollow void begin to open up in his heart as he stared down at his lap, unable to look Cagalli in the eye.

"Yes…" he said quietly. "It was me…"

"What happened to the pilot?" Cagalli asked, growing desperate. "We couldn't find him anywhere. Did he eject like you?"

Athrun smiled bitterly, his eyes covered by his bangs. "He's dead…" the ZAFT pilot replied. "Because I killed him…"

Cagalli's eyes widened as Athrun's words sank in. Her aim wavered as she began to shake uncontrollably. Kira… dead…?

"It's true…" Athrun continued, still smiling with self-loathing and bitterness. "I grabbed the Strike with my Aegis… and activated the self-destruct. I don't see how he could have survived, even if he tried to escape from that."

At that point, Cagalli had heard enough. The fiery blonde rushed forward and grabbed Athrun by the collar of his shirt before shoving the captured pilot down to the bed and jamming her pistol right under his chin.

"It was the only choice I had left," Athrun said simply, finally deciding to meet Cagalli's gaze with hollow, lifeless green eyes that seemed completely empty save for the deep emotional pain he was no doubt still experiencing. Tears slid down his cheeks as Cagalli raised him up and slammed him down again, looking ready to pull the trigger on the captured ZAFT pilot. Much to Athrun's well-concealed surprise, Cagalli simply let go of Athrun before turning.

"DAMN IT!" she screamed, punching a wall as tears formed in her eyes. Behind her, Athrun sat back up.

"But… why am _I_ still alive…?" he asked, though Cagalli couldn't be sure if he was asking her or simply asking himself. "I guess… I must have gotten out just in time, then…" Cagalli spun, training her gun on Athrun once more. The ultramarine-haired pilot's features simply twisted into that bitter smile of his. "Heh… or maybe you're the one who's destined to kill me."

"You might not know it, but…" Cagalli said, her voice breaking slightly. "Kira… the Strike's pilot… he wasn't just your average soldier! Sure, he took too many risks… he was never sure of what he was doing and he always cried… but he was kind! He was a nice guy!"

Athrun suddenly slouched slightly, melancholy mixing in with the bitterness in his smile.

"Yeah… I know…" Athrun said softly. "It looks like Kira hasn't changed one bit… He's the same as always."

Cagalli's eyes widened. "D-did you…?"

"Kira and I… have been friends since we were kids…" Athrun said, stunning Cagalli. "He was… a naïve and a sentimental crybaby… He was smart, but he was lazy and never really thought things through…" Athrun looked up at Cagalli, tears streaming down his face. "Still… Kira was a kind, compassionate, and generous friend!"

"We both went to Lunar Prep School together on the Moon…" Athrun continued, oblivious to Cagalli's state. "I eventually moved to the PLANTs… and he was supposed to follow, but…"

"But… that's crazy!" Cagalli yelled as she grabbed Athrun by his collar once more. "How could you kill Kira if you were such great friends?"

"I don't… I have no idea why, either! But I didn't have a choice!" Athrun shouted. "He was a Coordinator! He was one of us! So… why was he with the Earth Forces?"

"Th-that's because…" Cagalli started, but Athrun cut her off.

"I asked him to come with us, over and over again! But he wouldn't listen!" the ultramarine-haired pilot said. "He simply continued to fight against us… hurting my friends… and then he even killed Nicol…"

"So is that why you killed Kira?" Cagalli shot back.

"He was my enemy!" Athrun shouted. "I had no choice but to kill him!" At this point, Athrun wasn't sure who he was trying to convince about the reasons for his actions… was it Cagalli, or himself who he was trying to convince?

"You idiot!" Cagalli cried. "How the hell could you come up with something so stupid? How could you do something so terrible?"

"It was because he killed Nicol!" Athrun shouted back. "He was only fifteen… he loved to play the piano… he shouldn't even have been in this damned war in the first place, but he wanted to do his part and defend the PLANTs! And then Kira murdered him!"

"You bastard!" Cagalli retorted furiously. "Kira was only fighting to protect the people he cared about, too! He didn't deserve to be killed… and by his best friend, of all people!"

Athrun didn't reply to that as his grief and guilt finally overcame him. He simply sat there, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Kira killed your friend, so you killed him! Where did that get you? Did it solve anything?" Cagalli yelled, her own tears falling from her eyes. "Someone is killed for killing another! And then that person's killer is killed for that! How is that kind of twisted thinking ever going to bring us peace?"

Cagalli simply held onto Athrun at this point as they cried. She leaned forward, resting her head on his shoulder. Behind them, the door to the room opened, admitting Ledonir Kisaka.

"I'm… sorry to interrupt," Kisaka said. "But we've received word from the team that recovered the remains of the Blitz. It appears that there were no remains within the cockpit. It is quite likely that the pilot survived and was captured by the _Archangel_. I figured that he would want to know about it."

The news hit Athrun like a ton of bricks. Nicol was alive… He was alive… He had killed Kira over nothing… He had killed his best friend for nothing… absolutely nothing…

"What… What have I done…" Athrun whispered, his blood completely cold. He simply looked down at his lap, tears of grief pouring continuously from his eyes.

Cagalli looked back at Athrun, her expression a mix of sympathy and pity. It was cruel… but she felt that this experience would help Athrun if it didn't destroy him. It would teach him that revenge was futile, and only contributed to the cycle of hatred. It was something her father had taught her… and it was truly the only thing that stopped her from killing Athrun right here.

The blonde turned back to Kisaka. "What about the Raven and Sentinel?" she asked.

Kisaka frowned. "The recovery teams say both suits are a mess – it's a certainty that they're both irreparably damaged. The parts that we've managed to salvage from the Raven were the parts that were already severed from the rest of the mobile suit before the explosion. However, the torso was in fairly decent shape and, while there was debris and shrapnel inside, we found no traces of Christopher Dante in the cockpit. It's safe to assume that there's a possibility of his survival, though finding evidence to prove that is a different matter altogether."

Cagalli nodded. "And the Sentinel?"

"That… is where things get a little complicated," Kisaka replied. "We tried to recover what we could, but… it's proceeding much slower than we anticipated. Most of the mobile suit was completely obliterated by the explosion, and what remains of it is scattered over a very large area or intermixed with debris from the other machines. However, we _did_ find the Sentinel's beam glaives in the general area of where a large amount of wreckage from the Guardian can be found. From what we gathered, it's safe to assume that it quite thoroughly tore apart the Guardian during the battle."

"Did you manage to find the Sentinel's cockpit?" Cagalli asked, noting Athrun's sudden interest.

Kisaka's face screwed up tight. "We did… Well, we found most of it, at any rate. The cockpit's structure was – much to our surprise – fairly intact, though most of the right side was destroyed by what we assume to be the Raven' beam saber stabbing into it. Also, the hatch itself seems to have been forcibly blown off of its hinges, meaning that its pilot tried to activate the emergency escape mechanisms before or during the Sentinel's destruction. The cockpit's interior is a total wreck, and what little evidence we've found is very inconclusive, but they all seem to indicate he perished in the explosion."

"I see…" Cagalli said, watching as Athrun's features were once more overcome with grief. "What did you find, exactly?"

Kisaka frowned. "We found several parts of the cockpit stained with blood, along with some bits and pieces of a ZAFT pilot suit… and what we're assuming to be the pilot's helmet. I've had it all sent back to Orb for further testing – they have more advanced facilities and a greater database than what we have right now."

Cagalli clenched a fist in annoyance. "Right… thanks, Kisaka," she said, looking back at Athrun, who was radiating utter defeat and self-loathing. Her hardened expression softened, before she opened the door and walked out, Kisaka following after her.

"Leon…" Athrun whispered, clenching his fists as tears fell from his eyes. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Hangar

Later that night

"C'mon, guys, I'm begging you!" Mu pleaded as he desperately tried to get the hangar crews to prepare his Skygrasper for launch.

"Mu, don't be reckless," John said. "I know you're worried about those two, but you can't let your better judgment be clouded by your emotions!"

The fighter ace simply ignored the sniper's words as he continued loading extra supplies into his fighter.

"Listen, Mu," John said. "Even if you find them, what are you going to do? ZAFT forces are probably still in the area – you'll be lucky to get there without being attacked, and it's almost impossible to evade discovery until you find them… if you _do_ find them, at all."

Mu had been about to offer a rather heated retort when another voice cut into the conversation.

"Commander!" Murrue called out as she ran up to the two veteran pilots.

John sighed in relief. "Finally… someone who can talk some sense into him…" he murmured as he walked off.

"Please, Commander, give the mechanics some time to rest," Murrue said. "They've been pushed to the very limit just keeping the ship together on top of trying to repair the damaged mobile suits."

Mu frowned. "Captain, have we received any word from Orb?" he asked.

"No, but…"

The fighter ace cut her off as he pressed on. "Have we already reached Alaskan airspace?"

"Yes, but…"

"Then that's all I need to hear," Mu said. "I'm going to go look for them."

"I cannot allow you to do that, Commander," Murrue said.

Mu's expression tightened. This was _not_ an argument he wanted to be having… and Murrue was definitely _not_ the person he'd want to be having it with. "But what if they managed to make it out of there alive?" he demanded. "We pretty much left them to die! I can't just sit here when I could be out there trying to find them!"

"I would be the first to go out and look for them if it came to that, Commander," Murrue replied. "But… right now, that's impossible, and, given the current situation we now face, I cannot let you go out alone, either."

Murrue hesitated for a moment, but plowed on. "Please, Commander… if we lost you as well… I don't…" She looked up at Mu, her eyes filling with tears. "Please… just pray for their safety. That's all we can do for them for now…"

Mu's expression softened as he gently placed a hand on Murrue's shoulder. "Understood, Captain…" he said understandingly, keeping the defeat from his tone. Of course, she was right… It was all just his desperation talking. Mu didn't like it… but he knew that he couldn't do anything to help Kira or Chris.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Crew Quarters

Flay lay alone in the now-empty quarters of Chris Dante, her empty gaze simply locked onto a single point in the ceiling. Chris had been her focal point… her support… her strength. Ever since Artemis, when she'd been exposed to the harsh realities of war, Chris had been there. He'd helped her when she needed to move past her father's untimely death… and he'd even taken her under his wing to make sure she didn't repeat the same mistakes he'd made… and now fate decided to repay that kindness with the worst possible price.

And now, he was gone.

_Chris was gone… Dead… Killed by the Sentinel._

The redhead felt a few tears leak from the corners of her eyes, trailing down to land on the pillow on Chris' bed. This shouldn't – _couldn't_ – have happened… It just couldn't… She couldn't be alone again… not after she'd tried so hard to change.

The sound of a door opening alerted Flay to someone else's presence. She sat up, wiping the tears from her eyes, and found Liz standing at the doorway, an empty look in the brunette's once vibrant green eyes.

"Liz…" Flay whispered, momentarily forgetting her own grief. She moved to sit on the edge of the bed and motioned to the spot beside her. "Hey… are you okay? Come on… sit down…"

The brunette moved almost robotically, collapsing onto the bed next to Flay. The redhead felt her heart rip apart just a bit more as she took in Liz's state. It… it just wasn't her. This person, so full of defeat, sorrow and despair… wasn't the Liz everyone had come to know…

Flay heard a slight sob, and looked to see tears falling from Liz's eyes. Hesitating for a moment, Flay moved to put an arm around Liz, but the younger girl suddenly threw her arms around the redhead's shoulders and let the floodgates open, crying her heart out.

"H-he's gone…" the brunette choked out in between sobs. "I'm… I'm all alone… Why did… Why did they have to die…? Why did brother have to die?"

Flay felt her own resolve shatter at Liz's words, her own tears beginning to fall and travel down her cheeks. Unsure of what to do, the redhead simply held Liz to her and buried her head in the crook of the brunette's neck. The two girls simply stayed in their embrace, releasing their grief for the person they both held dearest to them.

"You can't be gone…" Flay whispered. "Chris… you can't be gone… we still need you…"

* * *

Elsewhere

"Mir?" Sai called out as he opened the door to Mir's quarters, a food tray in his hands. "Mir… I brought you some food."

No reply came from within the darkened room. Sai stepped in, the light from the hallway showing Mir sitting on her bed, her head buried in her arms as she hugged her knees.

"You haven't eaten anything at all, have you…?" he continued gently. "At least eat a little something."

"… No," Mir simply replied, despair, sorrow, and grief the only emotions and feelings present in her almost empty tone. Sai almost choked upon his next words, but this was all he could do now. Taking care of his friend was the only thing he had left to him.

"Hey, listen… why don't we go down to the infirmary and get you some vitamin packs?" he suggested as he sat down next to the grieving girl. "All right, Mir?"

Mir kept silent, not bothering to reply to Sai's words, but she slowly unfolded her arms and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

Sai helped Mir up and gently guided her out of the darkened room, concern for Mir completely overriding his own grief.

Flay sighed as she aimlessly wandered through the halls of the _Archangel_, simply letting her feet guide her through an unspecific path. Liz had cried herself to sleep, and Flay had set the younger girl down on Chris' bed before leaving the girl to what the redhead hoped would be a restful sleep. Now… it left her alone to deal with everything. For the first time since her father's death, she was alone once again.

Tolle's death, along with the disappearances of both Kira and Chris… it was easy to see how hard everyone – including even Lieutenant Badgiruel – was taking it. Tolle was a good friend to everyone, and a really nice guy who shouldn't have even been dragged into this mess. Why did it have to be him to die… and leave Mir like this…? She felt her heart clench as she considered those thoughts. Was she really thinking about Tolle and Mir… or was she simply trying to mask her grief over Chris'… no, she couldn't say it… she couldn't even think it. The moment she did was the moment she accepted he was gone forever.

"Flay…?" a voice called out softly, freezing her mid-step just as she passed the infirmary. She felt something throb within her chest… she didn't need this right now… it wasn't the right time… but Sai was here, and it was something she couldn't run away from forever. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and put on as brave a face as she could muster.

"Sai… I…" she said, her voice just as soft. She felt her resolve almost crumble underneath the weight of her grief and her pain, but she held fast and continued. "I'm sorry… Listen… it… this wasn't how we'd expected things to turn out… nor did we intend for it to turn out this way. I just… I was desperate, and Chris was there to support me after my father died… Please… don't hold this against him…"

Sai's expression had hardened upon hearing Chris' name mentioned, but the sorrow, grief, and sincerity in Flay's voice softened his stance.

"I… I see…" Sai said. "It's all right, Flay… I understand." He gave the redhead a reassuring smile. "Let's sort the rest of it later… I need to go take care of Miri."

Flay nodded, and watched as Sai went back into the infirmary.

"Thank you… Sai…" she whispered, but it still did nothing to ease the pain in her heart. It still wouldn't change the fact that Kira and Chris were gone.

Nothing ever would.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Brig

A few minutes later

Saul and Dearka, both looking fairly downtrodden, were being escorted to the brig by a pair of guards. The same brown-haired girl Dearka had seen earlier had come by the infirmary, that look of utter defeat still on her features. Dearka so desperately wanted to say something… anything… but whenever he saw those eyes, so full of grief and pain, all words forming in his mind simply disappeared.

While he was dreading the thought of spending the rest of the war in some Earth Forces POW Camp – and who knew how long _that_ would be – Saul still felt his morale plummet a little bit more. Dearka was a smart-mouth who always had a quip or snide remark to make that would somehow lighten the mood… And yet here he was, being oddly reflective and quiet. It was almost… wrong.

"Saul! Dearka!" a _very_ familiar voice called out from one of the cells as the two stepped into the brig with their guards.

The two ZAFT Redcoats froze. That was one voice they knew they should _not_ be hearing. The thought that the stress of the past few battles had finally caught up to them and driven them insane crossed Saul's and Dearka's minds, but the moment they looked into the first cell… they knew for sure that they weren't hallucinating, and that their final reckless assault had been done for absolutely nothing.

There, sitting on the bunk… was Nicol Amalfi, very much alive and well.

"N-Nicol… Y-you're… alive…!" a speechless Dearka managed to say.

Saul laughed. "I don't believe it, Nicol! How the hell did you survive that?" he said, not bothering to contain the grin that was threatening to split his face wide open. "You have got to be _the_ luckiest guy in ZAFT!"

"All right, move it," one of the guards said, nudging his rifle into Saul's back.

"Okay, okay, we're moving," Saul replied. "You really need to lighten up, you know? We just meet a friend who we thought was dead and you don't even allow us a few minutes?"

"You're going into the two cells next to his, so you'll definitely have plenty of time to chat," the guard replied, letting out a tired sigh as he opened the cell door across from Nicol's. "We just want to get this over with and get a bit of a break. We've all been having a tough time ever since that last attack of yours."

As Saul walked into his cell, the guard locked the door. After they did the same to Dearka, placing him in the cell next to Nicol's, the two guards left.

"Wow, Nicol. I mean… just, wow. How _did_ you survive that?" Dearka asked after the brig door had closed. "I mean, with the explosion and all… we all thought you were dead."

"You're asking me? I was pretty surprised myself when I woke up on the legged ship," he replied. "I… guess I'm just lucky that the Strike's sword missed the cockpit."

"I'll say," Saul said. "Are you sure you don't have a rabbit's foot somewhere on you? Or maybe you've got a four-leaf clover hiding in that green hair of yours."

The three teens shared a good laugh… and, for the time being, the war didn't exist. Even if it were only for a short, fleeting moment… They were just like any ordinary group of friends, all their worries and thoughts about the war washed away at the relief of seeing each other alive and well.

* * *

Clyne Residence

Aprilius One

April 24, C.E. 71

"We've got a problem!" the infamous Mr. Pink said as the mischievous robot bounced around in the backyard of the Clyne family's residence.

"No, Mr. Pink! You can't go there!" Lacus called out as she followed the pink Haro into the glass sunroom.

"Yes, I can," it replied, clearly not convinced that it wasn't allowed in here. The Haro landed on the bed in the sunroom, Lacus quickly grabbing the robot before it disturbed the sleeping form lying on the bed.

The brunet on the bed suddenly shifted and groaned, prompting Lacus to take a seat on the chair next to the bed.

"Hello, how are you?" she asked as Kira Yamato's amethyst eyes slowly opened. "Are you awake?"

Kira's unfocused eyes darted around as he tried to figure out where he was… before his disoriented gaze fell on Lacus.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she greeted cheerfully. "Do you know who I am?"

The brunet's eyes suddenly widened. "La… Lacus…?" Kira asked. "Where am I…?"

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note: Aaaaand… that's that.**

**Several characters are absolutely crushed, and I hope I was able to reflect that in my character portrayals this time around. It was rather tough work for me, having to deal with so many crushed and emotionally devastated people, but I'd like to think I handled it well enough. Particularly, I _did_ enjoy writing out Lacus, Yzak, Athrun, and Flay, since I felt that, while they only had one or two scenes each, they were the ones who stood out from the rest this time around and really added depth to what went on here.  
**

**I added a scene for Lacus, something which I think came out particularly well, though Yzak's scene also saw a few changes from before, as well as Athrun and Cagalli's scene to account for the prior changes I've made to this story and its events. Over-all, while it took a **_**very**_** long time for me to finally finish it, I have to say that it was still enjoyable. After all, the sweetest victories are always the ones that follow the hardest battles.**

**As usual, reviews are greatly appreciated. They motivate me to improve my writing style, and also to work faster now that I have the time to be doing so. Hopefully, I'll be motivated enough to at least get past the Battle of JOSH-A… after which, I can finally start to have some REAL fun with all the things I have planned.**

**Ja ne, minna-san!**


	20. Phase 20: The Gathering Darkness

**Wow… I can't believe I managed to finally churn this out. Once again, college life loves to take away free time… it's really becoming a precious commodity these days. I truly apologize for the massive delay with this chapter.**

**Anyways, enough talk about how things are going bad for me. In my opinion, this is the part of the story where I REALLY throw a wrench into things and develop this story's own unique identity. Let me tell you… this is definitely the true start of MY story, and things from here on out are only going to get better. I hope you guys will stick along with the ride for that.**

**Even though it took a while, as I had to constantly revise scenes in-between all my schoolwork and other activities, I enjoyed the output of this one. I hope you guys all do as well.**

**Disclaimer: Previous disclaimers apply, though I have to add that the ZGMF-X06A Ark is MY property. ^_^**

* * *

Phase Twenty: The Gathering Darkness

April 19, C.E. 71

* * *

Marshall Islands, onboard an Orb transport plane

Cagalli opened the door and stepped into the temporary quarters they'd given to Athrun. The ultramarine-haired ZAFT Redcoat was seated at the foot of his bed, staring out the window with sadness clouding his normally brilliant green eyes.

"They're here to pick you up…" she said, her voice much softer than it had been when they'd been yelling at each other yesterday. Athrun stood and began walking towards the door, completely silent save for the sounds of his footsteps.

He stopped a few steps after he'd passed Cagalli, closed his eyes, and sighed. "Thanks for everything," he replied sincerely, though Cagalli couldn't understand how he could thank her when she'd shoved a gun at him and very nearly shot him on several occasions.

She hesitated for a moment, before coming to a decision.

"Hey," she called out. Athrun stopped and turned around, surprise evident on his features.

Cagalli took a pendant from around her neck and placed it around Athrun's own. "Take this with you," she said, taking the pendant in her hand and allowing Athrun to take a closer look. "It's a Haumea talisman. It'll protect you… from the dangerous life you've chosen."

Athrun was stunned. He didn't deserve this… so why…?

"But – but I killed Kira…" he said quietly, still unable to simply let go of what he'd done.

Cagalli looked away, her features tightening for a brief moment. "I just… don't want anyone else to die," she said.

Athrun closed his eyes. _'Neither do I…'_ he thought, images of Rusty, Miguel, Nicol, Kira and Leon flashing through his mind. No, he definitely didn't want to see any more of his friends die.

* * *

A few minutes later

Athrun cupped his good hand, gazing at the Haumea pendant that Cagalli had given him, as the small boat moved from the Orb transport towards the ZAFT VTOL that had come to pick him up.

"Bastard," Yzak said. "You dare to show your face again?"

However, his words did not match his actions, as the silver-haired Redcoat did not hesitate to extend a hand and help the injured Athrun aboard. Yes, he still obviously cared about what happened to his teammates, even if his scathing words of greeting seemed to imply otherwise.

"I destroyed the Strike… like I promised…" Athrun said softly as he walked away. Yzak turned, a slight smile on his features, and watched Athrun for a few moments before he quickly followed, falling into step with his teammate.

* * *

Clyne Residence

Aprilius One

April 24, C.E. 71

"La… Lacus…?" Kira asked. "Where am I…?"

Lacus simply shook her head and smiled. "There will be time for that later," she replied.

"No problem!" chirped Mr. Pink as it jumped from Lacus' hands and onto Kira's bed. "No problem!"

"So… has our first sleeper awakened?" a raven-haired man asked as he walked into the sunroom.

"Yes, Reverend Malchio," she replied, glancing at the man.

"You must be surprised, waking up here," the blind reverend said, addressing Kira. "But Miss Lacus was quite insistent that we bring your bed out here."

"Perhaps because it feels better to be outside than inside, don't you think?" Lacus said.

Kira glanced at his surroundings weakly, noticing how unfamiliar everything was.

"How… how did I get here?" he asked.

"You collapsed after wandering into my garden," Malchio replied. "You were badly injured, and in need of immediate medical assistance, not to mention that Miss Lacus here requested that you be brought here."

As if a dense fog surrounding his mind had cleared away, the memories of what had happened suddenly came flooding back: his final, merciless battle with Athrun… watching as Athrun killed Tolle right in front of his eyes… the Aegis grabbing onto the Strike… seeing the Raven and Sentinel explode right before the Aegis self-destructed…

The memories flooded back into Kira's mind, hitting him like a ton of bricks and cutting into his heart. Kira's breathing became labored as he broke into a cold sweat.

"Kira…?" Lacus asked, worry evident in her expression and tone. "What's wrong, Kira…?"

In spite of all the horrible images, there was still something he didn't understand.

"Why…? Why am I…?" he asked quietly.

"Because you are a bearer of the SEED," Reverend Malchio said. Kira was suddenly drawn back to his brief conversation with Makoto in Orb.

_"… You see… I have this sixth sense for certain people. I'm able to sense… a sort of 'light' in people. I've sensed it in you… and in Chris, as well."_

"Chris…" Kira thought, before he suddenly shot up, clutching his blanket as he gasped for air. His chest grew tight as grief flooded him… grief… and guilt over the deaths of Tolle and Chris.

"Kira!" Lacus cried with worry as she placed an arm over his shoulder and held him close.

"There's a problem!" chirped Haro.

Tears poured down Kira's cheeks as a raw surge of pain – physical, mental, and emotional – coursed through him. Lacus was there, quietly holding onto one of Kira's hands for comfort.

"I… fought Athrun…" Kira choked out. "I… I couldn't have survived…"

"Kira…" Lacus whispered, holding Kira closer to her as she tried to offer the boy as much comfort as she could.

* * *

An hour later

Kira sat in his bed, alone with his thoughts. It had taken him a while to do so, but he'd finally managed to calm himself down and sort himself through.

Now, he was taking the time to go through everything that had happened. Many of his thoughts were on everyone else still on the _Archangel_. He knew Tolle was gone – he'd seen Tolle's fighter explode right before his eyes – and he was almost as certain that Chris died when the Raven and Sentinel exploded… but did everyone else make it out alive? Had they made it to Alaska? Or… no, he didn't want to think about that. He had to believe that they were all still alive.

"It was inevitable, I guess…" Kira said softly as Lacus placed a cup of tea on the small table next to the bed. "Because he thought I killed his friend, he tried to kill me… and in the middle of it all, he ended up killing my friend. And that's why…"

"That's why you tried to kill Athrun with all your might and he tried to do the same to you," Lacus finished for the brunet. "None of that could be helped, now, could it?"

Kira glanced at her. "Because that's war," she continued. "And you were both fighting against the enemy. Am I mistaken?"

No, she wasn't. And as much as Kira hated to admit it, he and Athrun had gone from best friends to mortal enemies all because of this stupid and meaningless war.

* * *

April 27, C.E. 71

"Kira!" Lacus called out, catching the brunet's attention. His recovery had been nothing short of miraculous in its speed, as the doctor had already declared him fit to walk earlier that morning.

"What are you doing?" Lacus asked as she walked up to Kira. "Your tea is ready."

Kira glanced back at Lacus, and the pink-haired idol noticed the clouded look that still dominated his normally brilliant amethyst irises.

"You're worried… aren't you?" Lacus asked.

Kira looked down, simply gazing at the marble wall he was leaning on. "No…" he replied quietly.

"So… if it's not worry… then it's guilt, isn't it?" Lacus asked again, getting a nod this time from Kira.

"I see…" Lacus said, before she took hold of Kira's hand. "Please, come with me. I'd wanted to tell you earlier… but I figured that you'd like to see for yourself."

Lacus quickly led Kira into the Clyne Family residence and up to a second floor guest bedroom that extended to a balcony overlooking the garden and the artificial sea beyond.

There was only one bed in the large, finely-decorated room, with an unconscious form lying on it. Lacus led Kira towards the bedside, giving him a good look at the person lying on the bed. Even with the bandages, he instantly recognized the person's face, framed by familiar black hair.

"You… you're alive…" he whispered, gazing at the unconscious form of Christopher Dante. "I don't believe it… Chris, you're alive…"

* * *

Carpentaria Base Hospital Wing

5th Floor, Officer Suite 2

"So she's not in Intensive Care anymore?" Athrun asked as he and Yzak walked down the hall. "But I thought you said…"

The silver-haired pilot shook his head. "I wasn't joking when I said it was bad. We literally had to cut the cockpit open to get her out. Even the doctors are surprised with the developments," he said. It had been eight days since Athrun had been brought back to base, and he'd been on strict bed rest to ensure that his broken arm would mend properly.

However, after his latest examination, the doctors had already deemed him fit to go around base as long as he was in the company of another person and so long as he didn't perform any strenuous activities. While still limited in what he could do, Athrun took advantage of the restrictions being lifted to finally go visit their injured teammate.

"The rate at which she heals is just… incredible. It's almost unbelievable because she was in critical condition when we got her back to base," Yzak continued explaining as they walked. The silver-haired pilot suddenly turned a corner, and stopped at the second door. "We're here."

Athrun watched as Yzak keyed a code into the officer suite's security panel. The door silently slid open, and Yzak stepped aside to allow Athrun to step into the room first. The ultramarine-haired pilot took a quick look around the room, finding it to be appreciably spacious, with a comfortable couch, a pair of padded chairs, and a low table off to one side. There were a lot of non-essentials and creature comforts for visitors… but Athrun supposed that rank _did_ have its privileges… even in a military structured the way ZAFT was.

However, all those thoughts were quickly swept aside as soon as his focus fell on the person lying on the room's only bed.

"Tomoyo…" he whispered, rooted to his spot in a mixture of relief and guilt. Tomoyo turned her gaze from the room's large window. Surprise flickered across her expression for a brief moment, before a small smile settled on her features.

"Athrun… you're… all right…" Tomoyo said, her voice quiet, but relieved. Bloodied bandages were wrapped around her forehead, along with a patch on her cheek to cover up a cut. More bandages were wrapped around her torso, while her right arm was in a sling to help mend what was reported to be a fractured bone. Still… to have only been in intensive care for a few days… it was almost unheard of for anyone to make such a rapid recovery.

Athrun nodded. "Yeah… somehow…" he said. _'Though I really shouldn't be, not after what I've done…'_ he added to himself.

Giving a quick glance behind Athrun and Yzak, Tomoyo's expression grew clouded. "Do... you have any news on Leon…?"

The ultramarine-haired pilot used every ounce of his will to keep his carefully controlled mask from crumbling under the weight of his guilt and despair. He looked down, briefly considering not telling Tomoyo the truth and simply saying he hadn't heard anything, but he shot that idea down as quickly as it had surfaced. It wouldn't have been fair to the girl… no, even if it would hurt her badly, she deserved to know what had happened.

Tomoyo gave a start, her eyes going wide, before she looked down, suddenly refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"I… I see…" she said shakily, surprising Athrun and Yzak with her words. "It's… all right, Athrun… It's better to know than to live with nothing more than… than false hope…"

The girl's grip on her blanket tightened as she began shaking uncontrollably, valiantly trying to keep her emotions in check, but it wasn't long before tears came falling from her eyes.

"This is war… I understand that…" she said in between her sobs. "But… you of all people… deserved better, Leon… so why? Why did you… have to go and die? Why is this war… taking the lives of those who… who deserved so much better…?"

Athrun reached over, wanting to put a hand on Tomoyo's shoulder to help console her in her grief, but he hesitated as his guilt bubbled up inside him once again.

He looked at Tomoyo as the girl cried, and he knew it in his heart that this was also his fault. His own reckless desire for vengeance – a vengeance that he'd learned was completely meaningless – had helped cause this. Athrun turned away, unable to lay eyes on Tomoyo… not after what he'd done. He looked down, his posture one of shame and frustration, and truly began to wonder when this war would stop taking the lives of good people like Kira, Nicol, and Leon.

Yzak simply remained quiet, walking over to the window and gazing outside as he too contemplated the questions the grief-stricken girl had just posed.

"Damn it…" the silver-haired pilot muttered. "Come on, Vanyel, I know you, and you wouldn't die like this. You'd keep on living, even if you had to claw and fight every inch of the way to do it…"

Yzak glanced at Tomoyo for a moment, watching as she continued to cry, before he turned back, clenching a fist in sheer frustration.

'_She needs you, Leon… Tomoyo needs you to be with her…'_ he added, unwilling to give up on his missing friend and comrade. _'So, if you can hear me… you better be alive somewhere…'_

* * *

PLANT Supreme Council

Aprilius One

May 1, C.E. 71

"Olbani's Compromise Plan? What's the point in bringing something like this to the table now?" Patrick Zala, who'd been elected as the new PLANT Supreme Council Chairman a month ago, said. "Operation Spitbreak will proceed as planned."

"I'm certainly not saying that we accept it as is," Siegel Clyne replied. "But, if we proceed with the Operation, there is no doubt that we will suffer casualties in battle. We have a chance to avoid that, so shouldn't we at least make an attempt?"

"You raise a valid point," Ezalia Joule said. "But you can't expect us to agree to these ridiculous demands. They're acting as if they've won the war."

"Nevertheless, we can use this to call for a temporary ceasefire and return to the negotiating table," Ian Kessel replied. "It would give the men and women actually fighting this war a chance to rest, and it could actually end the war peacefully. We owe it to everyone fighting in this war, to their families, and to those that have been lost, to try."

Many in the Council were still very much surprised by Ian's steadfast determination. His son had recently been declared missing in action, likely dead. Yet, unlike Tad Elsman, whose son was also missing, and Yuri Amalfi, whose son had been killed, who had slipped into the background of the Council, Ian was still just as strong and as determined as he always was.

It was very much to the annoyance of Patrick Zala, who time and time again found Ian Kessel as an obstacle to his goals.

"This is only their crude way of buying time," Maxwell commented.

"Of course it is," Ian replied. "They know we're going to launch a massive operation soon. But, truthfully, it's unlikely that they could fortify Panama any further without leaving some of their other important bases dangerously underprotected. In addition to that, I don't think Operation Spitbreak will be a success in the long run. I've been looking at the numbers and estimates for the Operation, as well as the latest troop estimates at Panama. Frankly, this Operation could be damaging for us in the long run."

"It's obvious to anyone with half a brain that the best target for us to hit is Panama," Ian continued. "The loss of Panama would cripple their space forces, yes, but the number of Earth Alliance troops at Panama will guarantee at least forty to forty-five percent losses for our forces. Our holdings on Earth would be critically weakened afterwards and the Earth Forces could likely take back much of what we've gained. If you go through with this with any hope of succeeding, Chairman Zala, you'll need a very big ace hidden up your sleeve. You have no such ace, though, unless you've hidden it from the Council. This is why I voted against Operation Spitbreak."

Patrick Zala scowled. The bastard was trying to ruin everything! If he revealed Operation Spitbreak's true target, Clyne's supporters would try to stop it because they never voted on an attack on JOSH-A. The weak fools didn't know anything! Hacking off the limbs of a beast will only weaken it. You have to cut off the head of the beast to kill it.

Even worse is that the more they delayed, the greater the chance that the Earth Forces may get wind of his plan, ruining everything.

"No. I have not kept anything important from the Council," Patrick said calmly. "You are underestimating our forces and overestimating the strength of the Earth Forces. Operation Spitbreak will be a major success and will help bring a quick end to the war. There is no reason to consider Olbani's proposal at this point. Operation Spitbreak will go ahead as planned."

"Arrogance in war can only lead to an unprecedented disaster," Ian replied. "You might wish to remember that, Zala, for if Spitbreak fails, it will be those fighting this war that will suffer for it, not those who made the decision to go through with it."

* * *

Legislative Committee Chairman's Office

Januarius One

An hour and a half later

Ian Kessel let out a weary sigh as he sat down at his desk, letting his fatigue show now that he was alone and within the private confines of his office. He raised his head, looking at the framed photos on his desk – pictures of his wife and children. He let his eyes linger over a picture of Saul. It had been taken during Saul's graduation from the ZAFT academy.

Now, he was officially listed as MIA, and presumed to likely be dead.

Ian sighed to himself. He never should have pushed Saul the way he did… He wished he had been able to tell Saul how proud he was of him when he had the opportunity to do so.

An insistent beeping suddenly sounded from his desk. Ian blew out a long breath, and his professional mask was once more in place.

"Yes?"

"_Sorry to bother you, sir. However, we've just received a communication from Commander Kessel. Shall I patch it through?"_

Ian straightened up fully, all business once again. "Yes. Make sure that it's completely secure."

"_Yes, sir."_

His daughter's features materialized on the screen built into his desk. _"Father,"_ she greeted with a nod. _"Has there been any word?"_

"No," Ian replied, letting some hints of grief and sadness to show. "They haven't found any trace of him."

There was a slight, miniscule frown on Diana's face. No, most people wouldn't have noticed it, but Ian wasn't most people. He knew his daughter, and she was a woman skilled at burying her emotions behind a mask of cold logic. That smallest of frowns alone told Ian a lot about what his daughter was going through now that her brother was missing.

"_I see. What about Operation Spitbreak?"_

"It's still on," Ian said, hiding an angry scowl. "What do you think of the plan Zala's presented? I know that he's asked the Alaric Team to be in the first wave of the assault."

"_It's very risky,"_ Diana replied. _"Zala must still think that the Earth Forces can't defeat us. His false sense of invincibility is going to lead a lot of good men and women to their deaths… The most significant thing, though, is that Ajay's got a bad feeling regarding this operation."_

"And you trust his gut?" Ian asked.

"_After what happened in Endymion, there's not a single person who knows Ajay that wouldn't."_

Ian chuckled. "Trusting someone's feelings over cold facts and logic? That's not like you."

"_Don't ask me how, but Ajay can somehow tell when something bad is going to happen,"_ Diana said. _"And there's no one on the Alaric Team that would doubt his sixth sense for danger."_

"Hm… that reminds me of a paper I read some time ago… It was about a theory of the next step of human evolution," Ian said.

"_Do you mean that paper on the SEED Factor?"_

"No, not that one," Ian replied. "But, as I understand it, the doctor who wrote the paper on the SEED Factor worked closely with the two doctors who wrote this one. It was the very last paper they wrote, written a few years before they died. This paper was of an entirely separate phenomenon. They claimed that certain people could possess unusual mental abilities. Among them was a sixth sense for danger… something similar to what you've described. They even stated that, while 0.001 percent of the human population was born with these capabilities, an estimated one percent could develop them given the proper circumstances. _And_, most telling of all, they even went on to claim that those numbers are rising with each generation. According to the theory, these people are said to be the next step in human evolution towards becoming a new type of being, and that it wasn't dependent on whether the individual was a Natural or a Coordinator. In fact, the two doctors who wrote this paper have dubbed these individuals as 'Newtypes'."

"_That's very interesting. I'll have to take a look at that sometime,"_ Diana said.

"Indeed," Ian said. "But, we're getting a little off-topic. If you fear that this operation is actually a disaster in the making, then what are you going to do?"

"_I think we're going to be delayed due to mechanical problems,"_ Diana said, a bemused smile on her lips. _"It happens from time to time, what with all the upgrades and refits we make to our ships and mobile suits. We might have to call in the Junk Guild for some technical assistance."_

Ian shook his head. "For the life of me, I'll never understand how John managed to create that private arrangement you have with them."

"_He promised them some samples of any new ZAFT technology he would be able to get his hands on."_

"Speaking of new technology, Zala's unveiled our latest weapons," Ian said thoughtfully. "They're newly-developed, state-of-the-art prototype mobile suits fresh from the assembly lines. They were developed using technology and data gathered from the captured Earth Alliance prototypes. He hasn't given us any specifics yet, but they apparently suffer none of the restrictions of any current mobile suit."

"_You mean there's no operational time limit?"_ Diana asked.

"That's what Zala claims, though he's very tightlipped about how they're going to accomplish that feat," Ian replied. "I just hope he hasn't found a way to utilize nuclear power even with the presence of the N-Jammers. If such technology gets out, I don't think there's anything we can do to avert genocide."

"_Is there anything else about them?"_

"Well, like I said earlier, there are no specifics," Ian said. "However, they're each built to be able to match entire armies and capture or defend fortresses all on their own. There are ten of them, total. Two of them are already finished, three are scheduled to be done by the end of the week, with another two ready the following week, and the final three are going to be done within a month after that."

"_Thank you for telling me, Father,"_ Diana said. _"I'll keep that in mind."_

* * *

Clyne Residence

Aprilius One

Two hours later

A groan escaped his lips as he slowly came back to consciousness. He most definitely wouldn't be kidding if he said that he felt like he'd gone through hell… How he wished he could just go back and reacquaint himself with the temporary oblivion that was sleep.

Still, there were some things that circumstances just had to dictate for you to do, and, unfortunately, opening his eyes was one of them. It wasn't exactly easy to do so, considering that they each weighed like bricks, but the intrusive light that was shining on his closed eyelids simply just refused to let him get back to sleep.

Mustering up all the strength he could gather in his being, he cracked one eye open, but quickly shut it tight as the light forced its way in, blinding him for a brief moment. Gathering himself once more, he opened his eyes again, much more gradually this time, and came face to face with…

Arguably the worst thing he could ever wake up to. A pink spherical robot that he'd recognize anywhere… was sitting on his chest, staring down at him.

"Haro! Haro! Good morning!" a voice _beside_ him said. His eyes growing wide in horror, he looked around him…

And found a dozen of the artificial abominations surrounding him.

Christopher Dante, unfortunately convinced that this was no nightmare, but horrifying reality, said the first thing that came to his mind.

"WHAT THE HELL?" he yelled. "WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE THINGS DOING HERE?"

Chris suddenly heard a soft, almost relieved, sigh coming from his right. Turning, Chris found a blue-haired youth barely older than he was leaning against a portion of the wall next to the room's very large window. The young man's long, deep blue hair framed light, icy blue eyes that seemed to be analyzing Chris… appraising him with their steady, piercing gaze. He wore the uniform of an elite ZAFT Redcoat, though he'd only donned the uniform by the left sleeve, the right side simply left draped over his shoulder. Underneath, Chris caught sight of the Redcoat's right arm, tightly wrapped in bloodied bandages from shoulder to hand.

"It's good to see you awake," the young man said gently as he pushed off the wall, bringing himself to his full height. "How are you feeling?"

Chris hesitated, if only for a brief moment. "Good, I guess…" he replied. "It certainly beats being dead."

Though the Redcoat didn't smile, his expression did lighten considerably. "Well, displaying some humor is a good sign," he said, hiding his injured arm from view. "That means you're recovering quite nicely. It's certainly a marked improvement from when you were first brought here."

Chris looked around. "Speaking of that… where is… _here_…?" he asked. "I don't recognize this place."

"That's because you're on Aprilius One, Mr. Dante," the gentle voice of Lacus Clyne replied, prompting Chris to turn. There, seated around the room's low tea table, was Lacus Clyne, and…

"Kira…?" Chris asked, very much surprised to see his friend in the same place as he was. "What are you doing here…?"

The brunet shrugged, before offering up a smile. "Well… it's a pretty long story…" he said. "But a lot of it involved Lacus and…" He paused, unsure of how to proceed as he glanced at the mysterious ZAFT soldier.

"Excuse me… Kira Yamato…" the Redcoat suddenly spoke up. "I'd prefer it if I… not share my name."

Kira blinked in surprise. It had taken a lot for even Lacus just to coax a few words from him, and now here he was saying he wanted to keep even his name to himself. The brunet studied the blue-haired teen, looking for any sign of distress or any indication of what he was thinking. But, as always, the Redcoat's cold, stoic mask concealed any hint to his true intentions.

Still, Lacus trusted him implicitly, and that was enough for Kira to believe that the quiet teen's heart was in the right place. So, the brunet relented, giving the expressionless Redcoat a slight smile and nod to indicate his acknowledgement of the request. The Redcoat again did not smile, but simply gave a nod of thanks.

The young ZAFT soldier's eyes rested on Kira, studying the brunet intently, before they turned their attention to Chris. Both teens, to their benefit, did not flinch away from the unrelenting icy gaze even as they came under its scrutiny. Sighing lightly, the Redcoat suddenly turned away to gaze out the window, leaving his back turned to the three teens.

"My name is of no importance…" the young man said very quietly, his voice almost full of… what Kira and Chris recognized as melancholy. "I know names mean a lot… They define an individual's identity, after all. But mine does not hold meaning… not until I've been forgiven for all my sins. I hope you understand."

* * *

JOSH-A

May 2, C.E. 71

"I can't believe it… the _Archangel_ really made it," Colonel Moore said as he and other commanding officers watched the video feed showing the _Archangel_ as it entered JOSH-A.

"Perhaps the spirit of Admiral Halberton was watching over them?" Vice-Admiral Michaels jokingly said. "His force of will may have been protecting it."

"Those Coordinator children were the ones who really protected it," Captain Sutherland said through grit teeth.

"Don't be so sure of that, Captain Sutherland," Captain Oswald said. "Luckily, the destruction of the Strike and Raven, along with the declaration of their pilots as MIA, could be considered a… fortunate accident for us. It's a shame that the same fate couldn't have befallen the Guardian's pilot."

"The GAT series is going to be our main weapon," Sutherland said. "They're going to see a lot of use in the future, and we don't want people saying that the first in the line were operated by Coordinator children."

"You're right about that," Moore said. "It would make us look completely incompetent if that sort of information got out."

Michaels slammed his fists on the table. "It just looks like glaring evidence of our own inferiority!"

Sutherland pressed a key on his console, and a screen switched to an image that brought a miniscule smile to his lips. On the screen were the schematics of their latest prototype units: the GAT-X120 Ravager, the GAT-X131 Calamity, the GAT-X136 Maelstrom, the GAT-X150 Supremacy, the GAT-X162 Punishment, the GAT-X252 Forbidden, the GAT-X292 Vengeance, and the GAT-X370 Raider.

"All the technology used in those machines has already been transferred and further developed," Sutherland remarked. "And, this time, it is _we_ who will benefit from it."

"What have you told Azrael?" Oswald asked. "I understand he's getting very impatient."

"I've already told him that we're taking all the necessary steps to addressing these problems," Sutherland replied. "The situation with the _Archangel_ was a most unfortunate accident."

"However, it's not such a big problem," Moore added. "We can use this to our advantage. ZAFT seems to hold the _Archangel_ and its mobile suits in high esteem… or perhaps contempt." He smirked. "The _Archangel_ would make perfect bait for them, don't you think?"

Michaels chuckled. "Hmm… you mean sacrifice them to lure ZAFT's forces in?"

"Yes…" Sutherland said. "For the preservation of our blue and pure world."

* * *

Carpentaria Base Hospital Wing

5th Floor, Officer Suite 3

A few hours later

Athrun stared out his room's window, watching as ZAFT ground crews rushed throughout the base, making preparations for Operation Spitbreak. After more than ten days spent resting, his only remaining injury was his broken left arm. Still, the doctors had told him to take it easy to avoid any further complications.

On the other hand, Tomoyo had recovered fairly well, though she was still far from combat-ready status. Yzak had told him that, according to the examination when she'd first been brought in, Tomoyo had lost a staggering amount of her blood, mainly due to the lacerations that had covered her body, including a very deep wound on her right side that had almost gotten her killed. Still, her recovery speed had been nothing short of miraculous, and it was incredible that, aside from a few lingering wounds that had yet to fully close, her only remaining injuries were her right wrist and a couple of fractured ribs.

"It's Le Creuset. I'm coming in," a voice suddenly came from the door's intercom, drawing Athrun from his thoughts. The ultramarine-haired pilot turned to the door, straightening up as his commander stepped through. Athrun moved to salute, but Rau quickly motioned for him to stop.

"You're still injured, Athrun," Rau said. "Don't even think of getting up."

"I… I'm terribly sorry, sir…" Athrun said quietly.

"Nonsense, Athrun," Rau replied. "You were splendid. I heard about everything."

"Splendid?" Athrun questioned. In his mind, there was nothing splendid about what he'd done. Killing your best friend could never be considered as splendid… not in Athrun's eyes.

"I should be the one apologizing, Athrun," Rau said. "The sacrifices made were significant, and with a little more support, it might have been possible to avoid them. However, dwelling on a 'what-if' like that won't help anything… Still, it can be considered a testament to how formidable your friend really was."

A fresh wave of guilt hit Athrun as memories of Kira began resurfacing… of all the good and the bad they shared in the past.

"I know it's been a difficult series of battles for you," Rau continued. "Miguel, Nicol, Commander Waltfeld, Commander Morassim… They and many others have lost their lives to your friend and the pilots of the Raven and Guardian. Since you were the one who defeated him and destroyed the Strike, your skills are highly valued by the homeland. The decision has been made to honor you and your efforts with the Order of the Nebula."

Athrun looked away in shame, quickly forcing down the bile that had risen up to his throat. He didn't deserve any medal or award… not after he'd murdered his best friend in a blind rage over something that never really happened.

"Sir… what about…?" Athrun asked, but Rau cut him off.

"Headquarters has already reviewed all the reports we've received from you, Yzak, Zane, and Tomoyo," Rau replied. "Headquarters has also seen fit to bestow the Order of the Nebula upon Tomoyo Asahara for her meritorious performance since being assigned to this team, most especially during your pursuit of the legged ship. While her unit was eventually destroyed by the attrition of battle, I myself have seen the reports, and Headquarters is in agreement that, while she did not destroy any of the enemy machines, her efforts in and out of combat have greatly contributed to the overall success of the mission."

Athrun looked down. "I see, sir…" he said.

"Also, much to my regret, both you and Ms. Asahara are being transferred to ZAFT's Special Forces unit, which reports directly to the National Defense Committee."

Athrun looked up, stunned. "Transferred? But Commander, that's –!"

"You're both top guns now, Athrun, and the homeland recognizes your talents," Rau said. "You're both being assigned as pilots for our latest mobile suits. You've been instructed to return to the homeland to retrieve your new machines and receive your next orders."

"But sir, this is too much! I –!"

"Your father is now the Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council," Rau replied, cutting Athrun off. "But I'm sure you already know that."

"Yes, sir…" Athrun replied simply.

"Chairman Zala has been pushing for a quick end to this war," Rau said, placing a hand on Athrun's shoulder. "Personally, I too would want nothing more than for this war to come to a swift end. For that reason, I want you to do whatever you can to be able to help bring that about."

"I understand, Commander," Athrun said. He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "There's one other thing, though."

"Yes?"

"After Orb recovered me, I heard that they recovered the remains of the Blitz, but there were no signs of a body," Athrun said. "Nicol could still be alive!"

"I see," Rau replied evenly. "However, that alone is not enough to warrant changing his status to MIA."

"But Commander, what if he's still alive?"

"And what if he isn't, Athrun?" Rau retorted. "His family is still grieving over his loss. If you gave them that hope, only to later take it from them when it turns out to be false, the pain they feel now will pale in comparison to the pain they will feel then. Do you really want to be the cause of that?"

Athrun found no words with which to reply, and Rau continued in a much gentler tone. "Hopefully, you'll be able to learn more in your new position," he said. For a moment, Rau looked hesitant, almost regretful, but it was always hard to tell with the masked man. His hold on his emotions was always very tight.

His next words, however, caught him completely off-guard. "Headquarters has also decided to award Leon Vanyel with the Order of the Nebula for his own efforts and contributions, especially for his achievements in destroying both the Guardian and the Raven. However, there is something rather strange, and it's the fact that they never mentioned his status to me…"

Athrun's eyes went wide. "But, Commander… could that mean that they believe he's…?"

Rau shook his head. "I'm not sure, myself. If you want to investigate it yourself, I'm sure your new post will give you the chance to do so upon your return to the homeland." He placed a hand on Athrun's shoulder and gave it a reassuring grip. "I wish you and Tomoyo good luck, Athrun. Do your best to bring about a future that will benefit all."

* * *

A Small Town

Outskirts of Carpentaria Base

"I understand that it's warming up over in Alaska," the young black-haired teen said.

"Indeed it is. But it's only going to get hotter as time passes," the man he was talking to replied.

The teen shrugged. "How's Josh?"

"He's good. He's almost finished moving," the man replied. "Oh, right, that reminds me. Mr. Angel said for me to give this to you." The man produced a disk from his pocket, and passed it over.

"Thank you," Zane Scirocco said, grinning as he took the disk. "I'm sure this will be of great help."

* * *

An hour later

Carpentaria Base Hospital Wing

5th Floor

Athrun carefully placed Nicol's music sheets in his suitcase before closing it. He walked out from his temporary quarters and shut the door behind him.

"I can't believe you're in the Special Forces," a voice called out, surprising Athrun. He turned, and his surprise was compounded as he found Yzak there waiting for him.

Athrun smiled, nodding at his friend and self-proclaimed rival.

"Don't worry. My turn will come," Yzak said. "I still can't believe someone like you or Asahara was picked for the Special Forces."

Athrun set down his suitcase and offered Yzak his uninjured right hand. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused, and for how things turned out. Thanks for all of your help."

Yzak took Athrun's hand and shook it firmly, finally putting all the conflicts that had started during this whole mess behind them.

"Good-bye, Yzak," Athrun said, picking up his suitcase and heading down the hallway towards the spaceport wing.

"Next time, I'll be the one in charge. I just might be your superior officer," Yzak said, smirking. "Make sure you stay alive long enough to see it happen! Don't get killed until then, okay?"

Athrun turned his head, and returned Yzak's grin. "Heh… you got it, Yzak," he said. "Just make sure you stay alive for that, too."

* * *

Carpentaria Base Spaceport Wing

3rd Floor, Gate 19

Tomoyo, her right arm still in a sling, walked towards the access tube leading towards the transport she was taking back into space.

She still couldn't understand it… why had she been awarded with ZAFT's highest military honors? Why was she being assigned to the Special Forces? She hadn't been able to achieve anything, and only succeeded in getting her mobile suit destroyed… along with failing miserably to protect her friends and comrades. Nothing in that deserved a medal, as far as she was concerned.

A cold, familiar presence flashed across her senses, bringing her to an abrupt halt. Narrowing her eyes, she turned and quickly spotted Falkner Grey leaning against the wall, his cold eyes locked onto her.

"Captain Falkner Grey," Tomoyo greeted evenly, unable to shake that feeling of unease – that genuine _fear_ – she had whenever the man was around. "What brings you here?"

"Tomoyo Asahara," Falkner replied just as evenly, his sharp lavender eyes piercing through Tomoyo and sending a chill down her spine. "I just came to make sure you and Zala make your flight with no problems. It wouldn't do to keep the Supreme Council waiting for its newest agents."

Tomoyo frowned. "Is that so…?" she asked icily. "In that case, neither you nor they have anything to worry about… unless you try something again. I'm certain you may have more success now than anything you might have tried in the past."

Falkner's eyes narrowed dangerously, his aura changing completely. "And what do you claim I tried to do in the past, Ms. Asahara?" he asked, an underlying tone of hostility present in his cold voice.

"Oh, nothing at all," Tomoyo replied almost mockingly, taking a step onto dangerously thin ice. "If you're so sure that you're innocent, then there would be no reason for you to radiate such murderous intent. It really makes me wonder, what you might have done."

Falkner's expression was still one of cold indifference, but the murderous intent he was exuding did not go unnoticed by Tomoyo, nor did the killer edge present in his eyes. Both Tomoyo and Falkner stood unmoving, locking glares. Tomoyo tensed, preparing herself for any sudden movements from the man before her as her mind ran through all the possible scenarios at an astounding pace. Her situation was not good. She was injured, leaving her at a disadvantage if Falkner tried anything now.

"Tomoyo? Tomoyo Asahara?" a voice called out, breaking the tense deadlock between the pair. Tomoyo risked turning, and found a violet-eyed brunette running up to her. A friendly smile lit up the other girl's attractive features, and it took Tomoyo less than a moment to recognize the other girl.

"Shiho…?" Tomoyo asked as the other girl, Shiho Hahnenfuss, slowed down to a walk as she approached. Tomoyo smiled at her best friend and classmate from the ZAFT Academy. The two had been in the same class from the day they set foot in the academy, and had both found in each other a dear friend and competitive rival. The two had graduated at the top of their class, beating academy records in several categories and earning them their Red uniforms as well as posts with ZAFT's MS R&D Division.

But Shiho was supposed to be in space, testing out ZAFT's prototype beam weaponry. So what was she…?

Tomoyo's eyes went wide as she suddenly remembered that Falkner was still there. She whipped around, turning in the direction where the man had been standing, but found that he'd suddenly disappeared. Tomoyo focused on her sixth sense, trying to find him…

'_He's… gone…?'_ Tomoyo wondered, disbelief coursing through her. Her eyebrows knit together in concentration, but she simply sighed, pushing those thoughts aside and storing them at the back of her mind for later considerations.

Shiho Hahnenfuss frowned as she noticed Tomoyo's troubled expression. "Hm? Something wrong, Tomoyo…?" she asked, curious as to why Tomoyo had suddenly whipped back the other way. "That man you were talking to earlier…"

Tomoyo shook her head. "It's nothing. I was just having a chat with the aide of my commanding officer," she replied, instantly meaning to drop the topic. Shiho caught the hint, and shrugged to indicate that she got the message.

"Well, anyways… I'm glad to see you're all right," Shiho said, offering another smile as she looked her silver-gray-haired friend up and down. "When I heard what happened to you guys, I feared the worst… I'm glad that my fears were unfounded."

Tomoyo gave Shiho a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, don't worry," she replied, raising her injured right arm slightly. "All my other injuries are healed, and my arm will be good as new in no time."

"Heh… I suppose I'll have to take your word for it," Shiho replied. "So, I take it you're here because you're heading back to the PLANTs?"

Tomoyo nodded. "That's right…" she replied. "I've been assigned to the Special Forces reporting to the National Defense Committee."

Shiho smiled at that. "Well, congratulations are in order for you, then! I always knew you had the right stuff to make it to the Special Forces!" the brunette said. "It's about time the top brass took notice of you! I can't believe it took them _this_ long just to promote you!"

Tomoyo giggled. "I'm sure Headquarters would appreciate your view on how they value personnel, Shiho," she replied. "So… what _are_ you doing here?"

Shiho gave Tomoyo a slight smile. "Well, since you're on the next flight out, I can't keep you long, so I'll sum it up for you," she said. "Basically, I'm being assigned here to shore up the Le Creuset Team's numbers in preparation for Operation Spit Break. Is Yzak still around?"

The silver-gray-haired girl smiled. "That's right," she replied. "Why do you ask? Don't tell me you still have that crush on him."

The brunette blushed a pretty shade of pink. "N-no! I… I just wanted to be reassured that I'd be working with a familiar face!" Shiho replied, more than a little flustered.

"I'm just kidding, Shiho," Tomoyo replied, giggling to herself. "But at least you proved my suspicions."

Shiho glared at Tomoyo, but softened it with a smile. "Heh… you know, I really missed that side of you…" she said. In a rare display of affection, Shiho enfolded Tomoyo in a hug, careful to miss any of Tomoyo's injuries. "You take care of yourself, alright?"

"Yeah…" Tomoyo replied, closing her eyes as she wrapped her good hand around Shiho's shoulders. "You too, Shiho…"

* * *

JOSH-A

May 4, C.E. 71

Murrue, Natarle, the rest of the senior bridge crew, Chief Murdoch, Mu, and Liz sat in a group of chairs that had been set up in the room. They'd already been waiting in dock for three days, and every query as to any new developments were always met with the same reply that they were to simply wait for a member of the base staff to contact them. Today, they'd finally received a call that requested for all senior crew members and the ship's surviving pilots – minus the mercenary 'Victor Cain' – to report to an investigative hearing on the events that had transpired since the collapse of Heliopolis.

Many of those present, most especially Murrue, Natarle and Mu, gave Liz worried glances. Ever since the Marshall Islands, Liz had never been the same. While Miriallia was still in bad shape, it was still nothing compared to Liz's situation. It was as if someone had taken away the girl's bright, cheerful personality, leaving her a soulless, empty shell with dull eyes that no longer had that vibrant shine to them.

All thoughts and small bits of conversations stopped when the door to the room opened, admitting three Earth Alliance officers. Everyone stood and saluted, though a few took careful note of Liz's near-mechanical movements. The trio of officers returned the salute after they had taken their places at the table located at the very front of the room.

The lead officer, his rank tabs indicating him to be a Captain, took his seat and spoke. "I am Captain William Sutherland of the General Staff," he said. "I have been placed in charge of all instructions and deliberations regarding the 8th Fleet's _Archangel_. Please be seated so that we may begin."

"We have already retrieved the logs from the _Archangel_'s NavComm and are analyzing them as we speak," Sutherland continued after the assembled crew had taken their seats. "I must say, Captain Ramius, that your vessel's combat record is very impressive, especially when one considers the very sudden circumstances that forced you into the role of the ship's captain. And now, I would like to hear a detailed report and testimony on all the events that had transpired from the collapse of Heliopolis until your arrival here at JOSH-A. This hearing is being run in accordance with the military regulations for a court marshal. In keeping with procedure, anything said here will be entered into the records. I trust that you will all tell the truth."

* * *

Carpentaria Base Docks

Onboard the _Cousteau_

Two hours later

Yzak exited his quarters, the door sliding closed behind him with a hiss. He took a moment to gaze at the door across… and to the empty identification panel that had once displayed the names of Saul Kessel and Nicol Amalfi. Down the hall were two other rooms that had now-empty identification panels for Leon Vanyel and Tomoyo Asahara. He frowned, and absently turned his gaze to the panel for his own room.

_Yzak Joule_

The silver-haired pilot sighed, feeling a dull ache as he looked at the empty space below his name, where Dearka's name had been displayed. Yes, he now had solo quarters… and yes, Dearka was not around to drive him completely up the wall… but he found that not having the rest of the team around felt as if someone was tearing out a chunk of his heart and leaving a gaping hole in its place. Even if he would never admit it out loud, he'd eventually grown to find some form of comfort in the company of his longtime friends, and not having them around just felt… wrong.

Yzak sighed again, shaking his thoughts aside, and turned to walk down the hall. The Commander certainly could not be kept waiting, after all, and Yzak certainly did not feel like testing Rau Le Creuset's patience.

Rounding a corner, Yzak found Zane calmly leaning against a wall. The other Redcoat gave Yzak a simple nod in greeting as he pushed off the wall and fell into step with Yzak. No words were said between them, but they knew just what it was they were facing. Even if they were hardly what one could call friends… the two Redcoats had achieved a form of understanding born from their shared experiences on and off the battlefield.

As the pair came upon an intersection in the ship's hallways, a female Redcoat with long brown hair stepped out from one of the other passageways. The girl noticed Yzak and Zane and turned to face them, her eyes lighting up in recognition.

"Yzak, Scirocco," she said in an even tone as she gave the pair a respectful salute. Both Yzak and Zane returned the salute with the same respect, though Yzak quickly noticed that Zane's posture had stiffened.

"Hōsenka," Yzak greeted, nodding slightly as he addressed Shiho with the nickname he himself had given her. "Are you one of the replacement pilots?"

Shiho Hahnenfuss shook her head. "No, I'm the _only_ replacement pilot," she replied. "And I'm the only one you'll need."

"That kind of arrogance will get you killed on the battlefield," Zane said.

Shiho smirked. "It's not arrogance, Scirocco," she replied, her tone still even. "Or would you like me to prove it by taking on your precious CGUE and trashing it again?"

Zane winced, his teeth clenched in obvious frustration as Shiho dug up an old wound to his pride as a pilot.

Yzak, on the other hand, had a surprised expression painted on his features. He'd once heard about an incident like that having happened. There were no particulars mentioned, but what he knew was that one of ZAFT's best frontline mobile suit pilots had antagonized one of the test pilots from ZAFT's MS R&D Division, and they'd decided to settle things from the cockpits of their mobile suits. As it turned out, the test pilot completely trashed her opponent's mobile suit – a CGUE – while using nothing more than a simple Proto GINN!

'_If it really _was _Shiho… then her skills are on an entirely different level…'_ the silver-haired pilot thought. _'Heh… I suppose it's no wonder that she was assigned to test the DEEP Arms…'_

"I've improved since then," Zane said, doing his best to keep his temper from flaring. "And so has my CGUE."

"Yes, yes, I've heard about your customizations," Shiho replied. "But this isn't the time for arguments like this. We have a briefing to get to, and it wouldn't do to keep the commander waiting."

* * *

JOSH-A

Murrue, Natarle, and Mu had come dangerously close to lashing out several times throughout the hearing. Sutherland and his companions initially blamed Captain Ramius and Admiral Halberton for the destruction of Heliopolis, the loss of the 8th Fleet, and just about anything else they could tie the two officers to. However… even that paled in comparison to the amount of blame being placed on the shoulders of the _Archangel_'s three Gundam pilots, all because they were Coordinators. Sutherland was manipulating the facts and, in some cases, ignoring the facts all to shift the vast majority of the blame for everything that had transpired as a result of their being Coordinators.

To make matters worse, Sutherland had placed almost the _entirety_ of that blame on Kira and Chris, who were no longer around to defend themselves. While that infuriated the gathered crew, who had witnessed first-hand just how pure Kira and Chris' intentions were for fighting… it paled in comparison to the fury they felt every time Sutherland, a smug smirk plastered on his features, would throw a subtle jab in Liz's direction regarding her brother, further tearing open the emotional wounds that had no doubt scarred her heart.

Each person, from Mu to even Natarle, wanted a piece of Sutherland for how he was so callously mocking and belittling the two teens' sacrifice, the same sacrifice that had allowed them to even make it this far in the first place.

Captain Sutherland closed the file on his desk and looked out at the assembled senior crew members from the _Archangel_. "This concludes our hearing," he said. "Thank you all for your patience in answering all our questions. We'll be in touch with you regarding the _Archangel_'s next assignment." Sutherland stood, hands on his desk. "Except for Lt. Commander Mu La Flaga, Lt. Junior Grade Natarle Badgiruel, and Crewman Flay Allster… all crew members are to remain onboard the ship. That will be all."

"Sir… what about us?" Mu asked, voicing the question that was no doubt on everyone's minds.

"Orders are to have you three transferred," Sutherland replied. "Report to the Personnel Office at 0800H sharp."

"Sir, if I may ask… why is Crewman Allster being transferred?" Natarle queried.

"You heard her words when she formally joined the military," Sutherland replied. "Seeing how she's a member of the Allster family, I'm sure her words will touch the hearts of many people, as will her motives for joining the military. Her contributions don't necessarily have to be on the frontline."

* * *

The _Cousteau_, Pilot Briefing Room

Yzak and Zane, being the two remaining Redcoats of the Le Creuset Team, took their seats in the front row, with Shiho following suit beside Yzak just a moment later. Many of the other seats in the room were occupied by Greencoat pilots, the vast majority of whom were only being assigned to the _Cousteau_ for this operation alone. However, down at the other end of the row was Falkner Grey, who sat as still as if he were carved from ice, seemingly brooding over something. As usual, he exuded a detached aura laced with foreboding that practically screamed at everyone to stay away lest they risk losing their head.

The small bits of idle chatter that was going on suddenly quieted down when the door opened to admit Commander Rau Le Creuset. The pilots rose as one and saluted Rau, the Commander returning the salute.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you would be seated, then we shall begin the briefing," Rau said. Once the pilots had taken their seats once more, Rau continued. "I will now be briefing each one of you on the details of Operation Spitbreak. This is the codename given to the plan to attack the Earth Alliance's final Mass Driver, dooming their space-based forces and, hopefully, bringing a quick end to this war."

The screen behind Rau displayed a map of the operation zone. "Now… the first phase of the operation will involve an aquatic assault using GOOhNs and ZnOs along with an orbital drop of mobile suits from a fleet waiting in geosynchronous orbit. These teams will disrupt their naval forces and their coastal gun emplacements in preparation for the second phase."

The screen zoomed in towards the coastal area, with several arrows showing the assigned approach paths for the ZAFT forces. "This is where we come in. The second phase will consist of airborne mobile suits from our fleet of _Vosgulov_-class submarines while landers ferry BuCUEs and ZuOOTs to the coast. They will be accompanied by a second drop force from space, which will meet up with the main unit. Our tasks will be to provide air support for our land-based forces and, ultimately, to deal the killing blow to the Earth Alliance's base at Porta Panama."

The projector shut off as the lights came to life within the room. "Now… while I have overall command, we'll be dividing everyone into two groups to improve our coordination during the actual assault. One will be under Falkner's command, while the second shall be under Yzak's command. Falkner will be taking Zane as his second, while Shiho will serve as Yzak's second."

* * *

Half an hour later

The _Cousteau_, Commander's Office

"Just like you'd hoped, Commander… it appears Azrael has come through for you," Falkner Grey said as he handed over the disk he'd received from Zane to Rau. "That should contain the access codes along with a clear route through JOSH-A's defenses…" Falkner's eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms. "I still don't see the point in you going, though."

Rau smiled as he flipped the disk in his fingers. "It's quite simple," he replied. "It's to ensure that the Earth Forces' commanders do not have a change of heart at the last minute. The Cyclops System must be activated. At the moment… most ZAFT soldiers do not particularly hate the Naturals. However, after JOSH-A, that will all change… for both sides."

"And, of course…" Rau continued, placing the disk down on his desk. "The Alaric Team is going to be at the very center of it all."

Falkner raised an eyebrow. "You managed to convince Zala to assign them to this operation?"

"Yes," Rau replied. "It was a difficult thing to do, as Zala does not want them to get too much credit for the operation's success. However, I convinced him to have them assigned to the first phase of the operation, so that they suffer the most casualties possible. Zala was particularly pleased when I informed him of the possibility of Commander Kessel dying. It seems he and Kessel are still going at it in the Council even now… Zala's hoping the death of his remaining child will break the man."

"If it weren't for the fact that this whole operation was going to fail…" Falkner said. "He'd be pleased that the Alaric Team was going to be wiped out."

Rau chuckled. "Yes… it will be a great boon if we were to rid ourselves of them," he replied, but his smile quickly died. "That said, while we know where Tomoyo Asahara is headed, we still don't have much information about Leon Vanyel's whereabouts. I fail to see how he could have possibly sur–"

"He's alive," Falkner cut in, gripping his sleeve tightly. "That boy wouldn't die so easily… and he's awakened much faster than I've ever anticipated. He'll _definitely_ be still alive."

Rau nodded. "I see… I'll leave it to you, then… how best to deal with him if that's truly the case."

"I wouldn't want it any other way," Falkner replied. "Only I can kill one of my own kind, after all."

* * *

The _Arde__nne_

Operational Briefing Room

Later that night

"As all of you already know, we've been ordered to participate in Operation Spitbreak," Commander Diana Kessel announced to the gathered pilots and 'officers' of the Alaric Team. "Specifically, we've been assigned to the first attack group being dropped from orbit. Chairman Zala himself _personally_ issued these orders to us."

"Hmph… so Zala's putting us in the most dangerous part of the entire operation, eh…?" Basque said, punching his palm. "The Earth Forces won't stand a chance."

"That's true. At the very least, the legged ship and its mobile suits would be a more challenging target," Lisa agreed, though her expression remained guarded. "However, you can't forget that this will be the _first_ time we'll be fighting on Earth. It's something we haven't done before."

"Gah… I just hate Earth's gravity," Herbert complained from where he and his teammates were sitting at the back.

Hilda lightly punched him in the shoulder. "Oh, shut it," she retorted.

"That's enough, you two," Diana cut in, her commanding voice once again gaining the attention of the entire briefing room. "We won't be participating in Operation Spitbreak."

Silence suddenly filled the room. Any and all conversation had stopped, as had any movements. It was as if someone had suddenly flash-frozen the entire scene, as everyone gave their Commander a look that begged the question whether she was still sane or not.

"But… why, Commander?" Lisa asked, the first one to break the silence. "We've _never_ backed down from an assignment. I don't see why we should start now, even if the orders came from Zala."

Diana shook her head. "Ajay," she replied simply. "He's approached me with regard to his increasing feelings of unease regarding this operation."

Lisa had felt an argument already forming in her mind, but that one line from Diana stopped her cold. Everything she and anyone else could have thrown against their team's Deputy Commander had been answered in just that one sentence. There was no one in the team who doubted Ajay's sixth sense for danger. It had never been wrong once, saving them from every disaster that had ever happened in the war from Endymion up until the present day.

"We will report to Headquarters that we are having mechanical problems and will be unable to arrive in time for the operation's start," Diana stated. "It should give us the time we need to get in touch with the Junk Guild."

"Do you think they have another message for us from the Commander?" Ajay asked.

"Possibly," Diana replied. "It's been a while since he last sent us a message. Either way… the next couple of days will certainly be interesting."

* * *

Clyne Residence

Aprilius One

May 5, C.E. 71

The blue-haired Redcoat looked out at the gentle, artificial sea of Aprilius One, his hair stirring in the light breeze. His features held a troubled expression as his thoughts were flooded with the memories of times he'd rather have forgotten. It was the reason he was out here, staring at

While the atmosphere itself was soothing… he still preferred the calming effect that the Earth's oceans had to offer him. They offered him a temporary release, even for a brief moment, from who he was… what he'd done… and what he'd failed to do. It was… a short escape from the never-ending chaos that constantly surrounds him… and from the sins that continue to haunt him. It was…

"Is something wrong…?" a voice called out. The Redcoat turned slightly, catching sight of Chris as the black-haired teen approached. "You looked pretty troubled for a moment."

"Christopher Dante…" he greeted, his voice quiet as always. "You don't need to be concerned about me. My thoughts aren't anything interesting."

Chris frowned. "That really doesn't seem to be the case," he said. "Even I can see that there's something bothering you, so why are you so quiet about it?"

The blue-haired soldier looked away, gazing out at the ocean once more. He remained silent for several minutes, a brief period in which his expression was completely unreadable. Chris, on the other hand, simply waited. He didn't care how long the other teen took to answer – he'd wait until he did.

"… sorry…"

Chris blinked. "Wha –?" he murmured, more than a little confused. The blue-haired teen finally turned to look Chris in the eye, and it took the black-haired teen almost every ounce of his will not to look away or back down. A storm of negative emotion – pain, sorrow, anger, despair and… guilt – was raging in the very core of the Redcoat's soul, the turmoil and constant chaos plaguing him being radiated through those cold, piercing blue eyes.

"I'm sorry… for what I've done…" he repeated, his voice still quiet. "And thank you… Please excuse me."

The Redcoat turned and walked off, leaving behind a very confused, and very bewildered Chris Dante.

'_What…?'_ Chris thought as he watched the blue-haired teen walk off. _'What is he talking about?'_

Chris frowned, trying to digest just what he'd heard. Attempting to open up the blue-haired ZAFT soldier hadn't yielded many answers. In fact, it only left even more unanswered questions surrounding him. Chris really had to wonder…

'_Just what the hell happened to him…?'_

* * *

ZAFT Space Fleet

Geosynchronous Orbit with Panama

The ZAFT Fleet was abuzz with activity as crews carried out final preparations before Operation Spitbreak began. Several Long Range Reconnaissance Type GINNs patrolled the fleet's perimeter, keeping a careful watch for any possible threats with their powerful sensor arrays. In the meantime, GINNs and CGUEs began moving from the hangars of _Laurasia_-class frigates and _Nazca_-class destroyers towards the drop pods that were currently tethered to the bellies of large drop ships.

"Where the hell is the Alaric Team?" yelled an annoyed Commander Emil Darlian, captain of the _Nazca_-class vessel _Nietzche_. "They're supposed to be in the first wave!"

The _Nietzche_'s comm. officer suddenly turned. "Sir, I've just received a message. It's from the Alaric Team," he said. "It reads: 'Unable to arrive in time for the start of Operation Spitbreak due to mechanical problems. Will join up with the main assault group when able to.'"

Darlian slammed a hand on the armrest of his chair in frustration. "It serves them right! That damned Alaric Team!" Darlian said, his tone filled with contempt. "They think that military hardware isn't good enough for them and then they waste their time installing black market parts into perfectly good mobile suits and warships! We'll show them, though. Operation Spitbreak will proceed without their help!"

* * *

Jachin Due

ZAFT Central Command Center

'_It's time…'_ Patrick Zala thought as he gazed out over the personnel who were waiting at their stations… waiting for him to give the signal for Operation Spitbreak to commence. _'It's time to cut off the beast's head…'_

"As we embark upon this operation, it is my strongest and most fervent wish that it will bring the war to a swift conclusion!" he boomed, his words being transmitted in real time to all ZAFT forces that were participating in the operation. "May this blow inspire in us all the hope that we can attain true freedom and justice! Let Operation Spitbreak now commence!"

The officers stationed on the floor below quickly began scrambling, alerting the commanders on the field that the operation was now underway.

"I will now announce the target for Operation Spitbreak," Patrick continued. "Message from Central Command: Our target is JOSH-A, Earth Alliance Alaskan Headquarters!"

"Alaska?" one officer asked in disbelief.

"What about Panama?"

The entire Command Center was thrown into disarray for a brief moment by the announcement. Everyone had expected Spitbreak to be an attempt to take the Porta Panama Mass Driver and leave them stranded on Earth. But, in spite of their apparent disbelief, orders were still orders. Training overrode the momentary shock as the ZAFT personnel quickly resumed their duties, sending out Zala's orders to the ZAFT forces.

'_Thanks to those rumors we spread, the Earth Alliance is concentrating its forces in Panama,'_ Zala thought, smirking in anticipation. _'If we attack their headquarters now, they'll have no choice but to surrender.'_

* * *

The _Cousteau_

Hangar Deck

"JOSH-A?" Shiho questioned. "But that's crazy!"

"_It appears that those rumors that we were targeting Panama were nothing more than a feint to draw a vast majority of their forces away from Alaska,"_ Zane said over the comm. line. _"A clever ploy."_

Yzak's voice suddenly joined in over the comm. unit. _"Yeah, I always knew Chairman Zala was put in charge for a reason."_

Shiho frowned. She didn't like this strategy one bit. Far from bringing the war to an end, this attack would likely just escalate it. JOSH-A wasn't the only place that the Earth Alliance could command from, and she doubted they were so incompetent that they couldn't even evacuate their command personnel in the time it would take ZAFT to overrun the base. More importantly, the change in target would delay the attack by at least a day, leaving all personnel involved high-strung with anticipation, worry, and over-eagerness.

If something went wrong, this attack could have disastrous results for ZAFT, with their hold on Earth being broken the worst thing that could possibly happen. That, in turn, would take the main theater of war back to space, right on the PLANTs' front yard.

After that, it would only be a matter of time before attrition would slowly hand the Earth Forces their final victory on a golden platter.

* * *

The _Arden__ne_

"JOSH-A?" Diana asked, keeping her surprise to herself. While it would have been the most favorable choice if handled properly… ZAFT just didn't have the manpower to hold onto JOSH-A without severely weakening most of their other major holdings on Earth.

"That's right, Commander," Captain Lee replied. "Central Command just announced it. Spitbreak's real target isn't Panama, but Alaska."

"It's a clever gamble," Lucius commented. "They drew most of the Earth Forces to where they were most likely to attack – Panama – and then attacked where they least expected it – JOSH-A."

Diana shook her head. "It won't work, though," she replied. "Taking Panama was already risky enough. This attack can, and _will_, if it fails, cost us the war… Unless, of course, their forces are much weaker than anyone thought, which is probably what Zala's thinking."

"Do you think it will work?" Lee asked.

Again, Diana shook her head. "No, it won't," she replied. "Ajay said that something was wrong here. I have no doubt it will fail. The only question is… 'How _badly_ will it fail?'"

* * *

Clyne Residence

Aprilius One

Kira, Lacus, Chris, and Reverend Malchio were sitting in the sunroom, drinking tea as rain continued to pour outside. Kira had asked earlier that day if there was any way for him and Chris to get back to Earth, something which Siegel was checking on for the two teens.

"It's impossible," Siegel said as he entered the sunroom and took a seat beside his daughter. "Even if you use the Reverend's shuttle, flights to Earth just aren't being allowed."

A beep suddenly alerted the sunroom's occupants as a screen displaying the words "Sound Only" appeared on one of the glass walls of the room.

"_Mr. Clyne, you have a call from Ms. Eileen Canaver and Mr. Ian Kessel,"_ one of Siegel's aides said. _"They say it's very urgent."_

Siegel nodded. "I'll receive it in here," he said. "Please put them through."

Without any further acknowledgement, the screen quickly blanked out, resolving itself into the faces of Ian Kessel and Eileen Canaver of the Supreme Council.

"_Siegel, we've been tricked! Zala has deceived us all!"_ Eileen said. _"Spitbreak has begun, but its target isn't Panama! It's Alaska!"_

"What?" Siegel exclaimed as he stood.

"_He's changed the target of the operation without the Council's approval,"_ Ian replied. _"I understand that he wants to take out the Alliance Command in one fell swoop, but he's still overstepped his bounds!"_

Kira's eyes widened at that exact moment. "A-Alaska…" he whispered, completely frozen in shock. He didn't even react when a cup hit the floor and shattered, having fallen from Chris' numb fingers as he too froze. The _Archangel_ was at Alaska… Their friends were in danger… Everything they'd risked their lives for was suddenly in jeopardy.

"Kira…" Lacus said worriedly, rushing to Kira's side. "Is… something the matter? What's wrong?"

"The… the _Archangel_…" Kira said quietly. "It's at Alaska… Our friends are all onboard."

Siegel and Lacus both responded with alarm. Even Eileen and Ian were apparently taken aback by the gravity of Kira's words.

"_Even if ZAFT attacks JOSH-A, they'll still be badly outnumbered…"_ Ian said. _"They can't kill the entire Earth Alliance."_

Siegel nodded. "There must be a way to stop them," he said.

"_But they're already preparing for battle,"_ Eileen replied. _"Zala's mustering as much of our forces as he can spare for the attack. Who knows how many casualties will…"_

Ian shook his head. _"What do you expect from Zala? This was exactly what we'd all feared would happen,"_ he said. _"I told you we shouldn't let a man like him be in charge."_

Chris balled his hands into fists, grasping the fabric of his pants tightly. Flay was there… Liz was there… He couldn't let them…!

He looked up, and almost smiled when he met Kira's determined gaze, a gaze he was sure he wore on his own features.

"Kira…" he said.

The brunet nodded. "Yeah… you don't need to say it," he replied. Both teens stood, drawing Siegel's attention, and even stopping Eileen and Ian from continuing their argument.

"Kira…?" Lacus asked. "Mr. Dante…?"

"We're going back to Earth," Kira declared. "We can't leave our friends to die."

Lacus stood as well, facing the two teens. Her countenance held a sorrowful expression as she realized just what Kira and Chris planned to do.

"You're going back?" the rosette asked. "Are you… going to fight ZAFT again?"

Chris shook his head. "No…" he replied. "ZAFT isn't our enemy any longer, and neither is the Earth Alliance."

"That's right," Kira added, looking down and letting his bangs cover his eyes. "There are plenty of Naturals and Coordinators who are… I mean… there are plenty of soldiers on both sides who are against this war." His hands tightened into fists. "Our real enemies are the ones…"

Kira looked up, his eyes filled with more determination than ever before, even as tears fell from them. "… Who only care about victory…" he continued. "The ones who don't care about how many people they have to kill."

Chris nodded. "That's right," he said. "We've found something more important that's worth fighting for."

Siegel looked at the two teens standing before him, a look crossing amazement with respect on his features. It didn't take those two long to come to a decision… and it wouldn't take him long to make one, either. These boys had shown him something that was sorely lacking in this world, and he found that he wanted to offer them his support.

"If that's how you feel, then… there's something I'd like you two to have," he said, drawing surprised looks from the three teens.

* * *

A few minutes later

"Lacus… I…" Kira said, struggling against the tears that were threatening to spill out. It was just the two of them left. Siegel had left to make arrangements, and Chris had gone inside, wanting to give them some privacy. "I have to go back. I can't let my friends die… especially when I can do something to protect them."

"I know…" Lacus replied, masking her fear and worry for the brunet. "Kira… I…"

"I'll miss you…" Kira said. "And I'll miss this place, too. It's beautiful… it's quiet, and… and peaceful. I think that I'd like to live here someday. It's your homeland, after all. It's where you grew up."

"Kira…" Lacus whispered, holding back her own tears and managing a smile. "I understand… well, let's be going, then. Everyone's waiting for us. We promise… _I_ promise… to give you the power to protect everyone and everything you love."

* * *

ZAFT Mobile Suit & Weapons Installation

Restricted Area – X10A Hangar

Kira felt slightly uneasy as he and Chris – both of them clad in Redcoat uniforms – followed Lacus and the blue-haired Redcoat through the corridors of ZAFT's main mobile suit and weapons development facilities. He had no idea why they were here, but he guessed that they were going to give him and Chris a way to get back in time to save the _Archangel_ and their friends, if Lacus' previous words were any indication.

As they approached a large set of doors, Kira and Chris noticed a pair of technicians waiting along with a ZAFT official. The two teens recognized him as Ian Kessel, the man who'd called Siegel Clyne earlier that afternoon.

"Hello, Mr. Kessel," Lacus greeted with a smile.

Ian nodded. "Ms. Lacus," he replied, before turning to the two teens. "You're the pilots of the Strike and Raven, I presume?"

"Yes, that's right," Kira replied.

"Before we go in… do you think you could tell me what happened to the Surge?" Ian asked. "Its pilot is my son."

"I'm sorry, sir… I don't know what happened to him," Kira replied. Chris gave a slight shake of the head, indicating that he didn't know either.

"I see…" Ian said, nodding almost understandingly. However, for a brief moment, he suddenly looked older and worn out. It was as if his normal mannerisms were nothing more than a mask of strength.

After that moment, his appearance returned to what it was before. "Well, there's not much time left. Ms. Lacus, you two get going while I deal with security. The only other one that's ready for us at this time is in the X06A hangar. You'll need to hurry."

The blue-haired Redcoat simply nodded, tapped Chris on the shoulder, and pushed off the wall. Chris turned back towards Kira, flashed a reassuring grin, and followed.

The two technicians unlocked the large doors, allowing Kira and Lacus entry. Lacus floated into the dark room, Kira following behind her. It was pitch black inside, the only things visible to Kira being the catwalk beneath him, Lacus herself, and a vague, familiar silhouette. The lights in the hangar suddenly switched on, revealing…

"A Gundam!" Kira said, staring at the mobile suit in awe.

"Actually, that's not what it's called," Lacus said. "This is the ZGMF-X10A Freedom. But, you know, Gundam is better because it sounds more powerful." At this, she giggled slightly.

"Under orders from Chairman Zala, they designed new mobile suits using the technology from the Earth Forces machines they captured, and then added state-of-the-art technology to them," Lacus continued.

"But why…" Kira asked. "… are you giving this to me…?"

"Because I feel this machine has the power that you're going to need," Lacus replied. "Neither will alone… nor strength alone will be enough. Will this take you to where you need to go? Will it help you when you get there?"

The two grew silent, simply staring up at the Freedom – the most powerful mobile suit currently in existence.

"Neither will alone… nor strength alone…" Kira said, echoing Lacus' words.

The brunet turned to face her. "Who… are you, really?" he asked.

Lacus smiled. "I am simply Lacus Clyne," she replied. "Just as you are Kira Yamato."

"I'm grateful," Kira replied, smiling as well.

The hangar's doors opened again, admitting Ian Kessel. "We've managed to knock out the cameras for both hangars along with most of the security. You'll be unnoticed until the mobile suits actually start moving," he informed the pair as he approached, a red ZAFT pilot suit and helmet in his hands.

Ian gave the Freedom a short glance, before giving Kira his attention. "Well, what do you think of the Freedom?" he asked. "Will it be able to help you?"

"Lacus is right," Kira answered as he accepted the pilot suit from Ian. "I promise you, I'll take good care of it. You're entrusting this mobile suit to me. I'll make sure that trust is never broken."

Ian nodded. "I see… Thank you, and good luck," he said as he floated out of the hangar. "Oh, and one more thing. I have no part in entrusting this mobile suit to you. You can thank Siegel and Miss Lacus for that."

Kira nodded in acknowledgement, before heading to the ready room nearby to change into the pilot suit.

* * *

Meanwhile

Restricted Area – X06A Hangar

"Over here," the Redcoat said as he floated up to a pair of doors identical to the ones they'd approached earlier.

"Uh… okay," Chris said, slightly hesitant and more than a little unnerved at what they were doing. It wasn't everyday that you snuck into a ZAFT base to find some transportation just to get to Earth, after all. It was even more disconcerting because the Redcoat acting as his guide had brought him aside, thrust a red ZAFT pilot suit at him, and told him to change before they moved on. Unwilling to question why, Chris simply did, resulting in his current situation.

The Redcoat quickly punched in a code, opening the doors and entering the nearly pitch-black room. Chris followed him into the large chamber, his eyes widening as the lights revealed its contents.

"What the…?" he exclaimed. "A… Gundam?"

"Not quite, though I do like the sound of that name," the blue-haired teen remarked. "This is the ZGMF-X06A Ark, one of ZAFT's latest prototype mobile suits." The ZAFT Redcoat frowned slightly. "Since you're going to find out anyways, I'll tell you about it now. This model has a built-in N-Jammer Canceler."

Chris whipped around to face the ZAFT soldier. "What?" he said. "You mean…?"

The blue-haired teen nodded gravely. "I'm not sure if it's true, but… this is a reason for me to believe that Chairman Zala is probably planning on using… nukes." He gazed up at the Ark, a sorrowful look in his eyes. "If the N-Jammer Canceler technology gets out, though… then that means ZAFT won't be the only ones with nuclear capabilities." He turned to look Chris in the eye. "In all honesty, this may be the only way to stop the Chairman from using nukes."

"And if this thing falls into the hands of the Earth Alliance?" Chris shot back. "What then?"

"If that happens…" the Redcoat replied calmly. "Then it will mean full-scale nuclear war. There will be more Bloody Valentine Tragedies… more Endymions… until both sides have wiped each other out."

"That's why…" the blue-haired teen continued. "That's why Lady Lacus and Master Siegel… want you to have this mobile suit. We all want you to decide what's best!" His eyes pierced deep into Chris' soul, surprising the black-haired teen with the intensity they carried – an intensity he'd never seen in anyone's eyes ever before. "What do you think… Christopher Dante?"

Chris' eyes widened at the young soldier's declaration. They were… entrusting him with this mobile suit? They wanted him to take control of this weapon that had the power to bring about an untold amount of suffering?

"It's… not exactly an easy decision," he said, looking down. _'Like hell it is. Who'd want to simply accept this thing without a single question?'_

The Redcoat, for the first time, offered up a small smile. "That's exactly the reason we think you're well-suited for this," he said, his voice gentle. "You understand what it means when you're faced with a choice like this. Sometimes intelligence alone isn't enough… and… sometimes strength alone isn't enough, either. Even with both… it may not be enough, either. But, you… you know what it means to listen to your heart. Listen to it, Christopher. What is it telling you to do?" With that, the ZAFT soldier floated off, leaving Chris alone with his thoughts.

Chris closed his eyes. _'He's… he's right…'_ he thought. _'A weapon… is only a tool of destruction if placed in the hands of a destroyer… But I… I simply want to protect what little precious people I have left in this world!'_ He opened his eyes, feeling a newfound determination coursing through him as he gazed up at the Ark. _'And you can help me do it!'_

He gave a smile. "I think I understand now… what it is you stand for, and what it is I should be doing," he said. "That's right… Together, we'll fight for peace and for the sake of those who are depending on us!"

"Very well said," Chris heard the ZAFT Redcoat say as he approached once again. "Don't ever lose that resolve, Christopher Dante," he said. "No matter what obstacles may come your way… always remember that you're not alone in this fight. You have friends and allies all around you." He extended a hand – his bandaged right hand, Chris noticed. "Just like Master Siegel… just like Lady Lacus… just like me."

Chris looked at the Redcoat's hand, then at the young man standing before him, locking gazes with those piercing blue eyes. Chris suddenly saw something… something he hadn't seen before. The pain, the sorrow, and all the anger… it was still there, but he also saw something else: hope. Yes, there it was… hope. Chris suddenly felt a sudden clarity settle on himself. He had no doubt that he and Kira were the ones who had to take up his hopes for a better future – a peaceful future. He smiled slightly, taking the Redcoat's injured hand as gently as he could.

"Right… Thank you."

The Redcoat shook his head. "No… thank _you_, Mr. Dante," he said. "Now, get going. There's not much time left."

Chris nodded. "Right."

* * *

A few minutes later

Restricted Area – X10A Hangar

Kira floated up to the Freedom's cockpit hatch, helmet tucked under one arm. He turned slightly as Lacus touched his shoulder.

"Are you… sure about this?" Kira asked, still not quite believing the enormous responsibility Lacus and her father were bequeathing him.

"Yes," Lacus replied. "I, too, will be singing… the great song of peace."

Kira nodded. "I see…" he said. "Be careful."

"Yes, I will," Lacus said. "You take care too, Kira. My strength goes with you." The rosette leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on Kira's cheek before pulling away, a blush the color of her hair dusting her cheeks. "And now… you should be on your way." She began to push away, but Kira suddenly caught her wrist, stopping her.

"Lacus, wait…" Kira said, gazing deep into the rosette's strong, sky-blue orbs. "Before I go… there's something I want to tell you. Something I _need_ to tell you."

"What is it… Kira…?" Lacus asked, a breathless expectation in her voice. She knew what it is he wanted to say… because she felt much the same way he did. But, it still needed to be said. She still needed to hear it… and she still needed to give him an answer.

"I… I love you, Lacus…" Kira said, finally putting their mutual feelings into words.

Lacus smiled a joyous, loving smile that reached her eyes. "And I love you, Kira…"

The two leaned in close, their lips meeting in a short kiss that expressed all they could ever wish to convey to each other. Both teens felt their hearts beating wildly against their chests as they lost each other in the sweetness of their soul mate's lips.

Still… heartbreaking as it was, both knew that there was no time for them to waste. They broke the kiss, content to simply gaze at each other's eyes for what were possibly their last few moments together for a long time.

Kira caressed Lacus' cheek softly. "Good-bye… Lacus…" Kira said.

"No… no good-byes, Kira…" Lacus replied. "I'll always be with you…" She placed a hand over Kira's chest. "… right here."

Kira smiled. "And I with you," he said. "No matter the circumstances… no matter where we are; no matter what we're facing… we're always going to be in each other's hearts." Kira gently pushed Lacus away as he floated towards the Freedom's waiting pilot seat. "No matter what, I won't die… I'm going to come back to you!"

"Don't expect me to wait around!" Lacus replied. "I'll follow you soon enough!"

Kira gave Lacus one final smile as the pilot seat lowered into the Freedom's darkened cockpit. Taking a quick look around, Kira flicked a couple of switches on the main console, studying the slightly different layout as the mobile suit came to life with a slight thrum.

Idly noting the much wider field of view compared to the cockpit of the Strike, Kira glanced down at the start-up display as the system came online.

**MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM**  
**G**eneration

**U**nsubdued

**N**uclear

**D**rive

**A**ssault

**M**odule

**G.U.N.D.A.M Complex**  
**_Series AVTC-T1 Ark/Advent/Innocence/Justice/Freedom/Regenerate/Testament/Providence/Retribution/Sovereign ****LA-SE3P****_**

**Z.A.F.T**

'_An N-Jammer Canceler… over four times the power of the Strike…'_ he thought. _'But Lacus has given me something far more precious, and far more powerful than anything this mobile suit can offer. The Freedom is a symbol of that!'_

Kira hit a few more switches, disengaging the maintenance cables and fully activating the nuclear fission reactor. The Freedom turned a distinct black, white, and blue as its Phase Shift Armor activated with a familiar hiss.

"Neither will alone…" Kira echoed, slowly pushing the thruster control lever towards the high output zone as he readied the Freedom for launch.

The Freedom's eyes flashed. "… nor strength alone," he finished as a screen materialized, zooming in on the closing hangar doors. Lacus stood on the other side, watching as she waved with a single hand, the other clutched to her chest.

'_Thank you, Lacus…'_ he thought. _'I've made up my mind.'_

"_Kira!"_ Chris' voice came over the comm. line. _"Is that you in that other unit?"_

"Yeah," Kira replied. "Are you ready to go?"

* * *

Restricted Area – X06A Hangar

"Final checks are good," Chris said, his eyes flying over the readouts pouring over the Ark's main screen. "All systems are… hm?"

'_What's this…?' _he thought, his eyes scanning over something that caught his notice. Frowning, he decided to check on it later. For now… they had friends to save.

The Ark's eyes flashed to life as its Phase Shift Armor activated, replacing the dull gray with midnight blue, white and red decorated with yellow trim.

Chris took a breath. "Alright, Kira…"

* * *

Restricted Area – X10A Hangar

"_Ready when you are."_

"Right… let's do it!" Kira said as he pushed down on a pedal, sending the Freedom's main thrusters roaring to life. The Freedom crouched for a brief moment before taking off, rocketing up the vertical launch hatch.

The Freedom cleared the hangar, rocketing away from Aprilius One. It was joined in mere moments by the Ark, the midnight blue mobile suit easily matching the Freedom's pace.

Patrolling GINNs spotted a pair of mobile suits as they emerged from Aprilius One at high speeds, making them appear as mere blurs to the naked eye. Unsure of what to do, the GINNs attempted to intercept, only for the two mobile suits to fly past the patrols in an instant, shocking the ZAFT pilots with their sheer speed.

The GINNs quickly gave pursuit, firing their machineguns at the two mobile suits. However, they had no luck hitting the two extraordinarily fast, extraordinarily maneuverable mobile suits, as they effortlessly – almost mockingly – evaded the ZAFT pilots' frantic shots.

Two pairs of GINNs from the outer patrol units quickly moved into place, intent on intercepting the two rogue mobile suits. Without any warning, the GINNs opened fire, sending machinegun rounds flying at the Freedom and Ark.

Sharing a simple glance and a nod, Kira and Chris quickly moved into action, understanding what their goal was. It wasn't to fight… all they needed to do was ensure they couldn't be pursued.

Kira stored the Freedom's rifle before spreading the mobile suit's wings and activating the Freedom's HiMAT Mode. Pushing his thrusters to maximum, Kira surged forward at high speed, closing rapidly with the first pair of ZAFT mobile suits.

The two GINNs fired their machineguns at the Freedom, but the advanced mobile suit was much too fast and much too agile as it twisted and wove its way through the storm of bullets, not slowing down for an instant as the distance to melee range rapidly shrank to nothing. Time seemed to slow as Kira drew a beam saber from the Freedom's hip, readying it for his attack. The two GINN pilots reached for their heavy swords in an attempt to counter…

… and then the white mobile suit was past them, leaving the two GINNs headless and armless as the Freedom continued on its way.

"Unbelievable…" Kira whispered, amazed by the Freedom's capabilities. "This is…"

Chris switched the Ark's massive, two-barreled rifle over to its left hand as he mimicked Kira's movements, flying towards the other pair of GINNs. Before he even reached melee range, Chris suddenly raised his rifle, took split-second aim at one of the GINNs, and pulled the trigger. A pair of beams erupted from the Ark's primary weapon, tearing through the void as they lanced in at Chris' first target.

The ZAFT pilot attempted to evade, twisting his GINN to the side. He was partially successful, but his aging mobile suit just could not fully get out of the way. The two powerful beams tore through the GINN's right shoulder and leg, completely obliterating the two limbs with their sheer firepower.

"… geez, that was at _minimum_ power settings?" Chris said, mentally cursing at the Ark's firepower. "The hell is up with this thing?"

Shaking his thoughts aside, Chris narrowed his eyes as the remaining GINN drew its sword and swung at the Ark. A panel on the Ark's left shoulder quickly opened, exposing a beam saber handle. Chris quickly took hold of the weapon, the beam saber flaring into existence as Chris ducked under the GINN's attack. Continuing the motion, Chris rolled the Ark and struck, his beam saber cutting right through the GINN's right arm as if it were paper.

Not bothering to wait around, Chris quickly gunned his thrusters and followed in Kira's wake. Behind him, the stunned and shocked ZAFT pilots could do nothing but stare numbly at the two mobile suits as they rocketed into space, completely in awe at the sheer display of power.

Kira visibly relaxed as Chris rejoined him, completely unscathed. Even with the power of their new machines, Earth was – at the very least – two days away at cruising velocity. With plenty of time to kill, Kira pulled out the Freedom's keyboard, intending to adapt the Freedom's OS to better suit his piloting style while he had the chance to do so.

"Hey… Chris…" he said as he began typing.

"_Yeah?"_

"Maybe you'll want to adapt that mobile suit's OS to suit you better?" Kira continued. "You… aren't exactly piloting the Raven, you know."

Silence answered him for a brief moment, a moment in which he could imagine the frown on the other teen's face.

"… _Damn it, I hadn't thought about that…"_ Chris suddenly said, drawing a chuckle from Kira. _"Thanks for reminding me."_

* * *

ZAFT Shuttle

May 7, C.E. 71

Athrun sat quietly in his seat. There was barely anyone on the shuttle, with most of its few occupants being soldiers that had been too badly hurt to continue fighting in the war. Athrun frowned as he thought back to the man sitting a few rows ahead of him. The brown-haired man had lost his left eye and left arm during combat, while a leg injury had forced him to walk with a cane. Clearly, his days of fighting were over.

The ultramarine-haired pilot glanced to his left, to where Tomoyo was seated next to him. She had been quiet the entire trip, not speaking to anyone unless addressed directly. Most of her wounds and injuries had already healed completely, though the sad, quiet look in her deep blue eyes told Athrun that not all was well with her. She never said anything, nor gave any indication, but her eyes betrayed the pain she was still feeling.

Tomoyo's breath suddenly caught as she looked to her right, past Athrun and out the window. Confused, Athrun turned around…

… just in time to see a pair of mobile suits they'd never seen before fly past the shuttle with tremendous speed as they headed for Earth. What the two Redcoats had seen showed that the two mobile suits were similar in appearance to the machines built on Heliopolis, and yet they were completely different at the same time.

Athrun turned to face Tomoyo. "Did you…?"

Tomoyo simply nodded, not speaking.

Neither Kira nor Athrun realized they had just encountered each other once again.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, this chapter was rather fun. The big reveal: Chris is alive…! Bet some of you didn't expect that one coming… or, if you did, you didn't expect my next bombshell: he's been hooked up with a brand-new nuclear-powered mobile suit! How's THAT for unexpected?**

**Ahem… anyways, this chapter had some radically altered scenes to account for changes I've made in regards to previous points in the story, and, overall, it's revealed the answers to some questions (mostly regarding Chris), left a few more questions hanging for us all, and also teased us all with some new tidbits of info. I hope you're all excited for what the future has in store, guys, because I know I am!**

**Now, the specs for the Ark will be withheld for now… at least until its true combat debut. Yes, I will deny you all, though everyone's free to guess as to what its entire armament list is composed of.**

**As always, any and all reviews are truly appreciated, so please do leave one. I'll be seeing you all next chapter. Hopefully it'll be done soon because I'm actually going to be on break within a week.**

**Ja ne, minna-san!**


	21. Phase 21: The Descending Sword

**Finally, the Battle of JOSH-A! Here I thought I was never going to get here… Now is when you truly start to see things that other stories didn't have. But, as usual, this chapter heralds the start of a journey down an irreversible path that leads us all to a conflict that will decide the fate of the entire world.**

**I finally unveil the ZGMF-X06A Ark here in a bloody battle that sets the stage for the rest of the story, and we get to see both Kira and Chris kick plenty of ass.**

**For now, I won't bore anyone with any lengthy notes like what other people do, so I simply hope all of you enjoy this lengthy chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED or any associated characters, locations, technology, or mecha. I do not own Chris Dante, Liz Dante, John Alaric, any member of the Alaric Team, Zane Scirocco, or the GAT-X204 Surge… all of whom belong to ****Akatsuki Leader13****. I also do not own the GAT-X308 Guardian, which belongs to my friend ****Maileesaeya****. However, I **_**do**_** own Tomoyo Asahara, Falkner Grey, the ZGMF-X06A Ark, and the ZGMF-X08A Innocence.**

* * *

Phase Twenty-One: The Descending Sword

May 8, C.E. 71

* * *

The _Archangel_

Starboard Hatch

"Thanks for everything, Captain," Mu said, a bag containing his possessions slung over one shoulder.

Murrue shook her head. "No, thank _you_," she said, smiling slightly. "Thanks for all of your hard work."

"Huh… where's Badgiruel?" Mu suddenly asked, looking around. "Did she leave already?"

"Yes," Murrue replied. "Lieutenant Commander Badgiruel went ahead to receive her new orders."

"A special promotion, huh?" Mu said, shrugging as he offered up a slight grin. "She's aiming for the top… Unlike me, I'll just be teaching in California."

"If you become an instructor… maybe we won't have so many new soldiers dying," Murrue replied, giving Mu what she hoped was a reassuring smile. She turned to Flay. "You make sure to take care of yourself, alright, Flay?"

Flay nodded, her mind obviously elsewhere. Murrue gave Flay a sad look, easily figuring out that the redhead's thoughts were on Chris Dante, who'd fallen in battle a scarce few weeks ago. Clearly, she'd been affected deeply by his passing, and grieved for him as a friend and more.

Murrue sighed quietly. "Well, I'd better see you off, then," she said, regretting having to send Flay off, but orders were orders. "Take care, Commander."

"Understood, Captain," Mu replied, respectfully for once, before he placed his hand around Flay's shoulder and guided the redhead out.

* * *

ZAFT Fleet

Geosynchronous Orbit with Alaska

Commander Emil Darlian smirked. After three long days… they were finally in position.

"We will now commence the orbital drop sequence for Operation Spitbreak!" he announced, his arm outstretched as he gave the order. "Release landing capsules! Our target is JOSH-A, Earth Alliance Alaskan Headquarters!"

The crews quickly carried out the order, releasing the drop pods and sending them falling towards the atmosphere on a direct course for Alaska.

* * *

The _Cousteau_

Alaskan Waters

The comm. officer looked up from his station. "Commander, the orbital forces have initiated the strategy."

"Prepare to surface! Deploy all mobile suits!" the captain ordered. Beside him, Rau hid a smirk.

'_Well… good luck, Earth Alliance,'_ he thought, watching with confidence as ZAFT's forces deployed. _'After all, I went through all the trouble of letting you know what Operation Spitbreak was all about…'_

Rau looked down at his open palm. _'Supreme Council Chairman Patrick Zala… Blue Cosmos Chairman Muruta Azrael… I hold you two in the palm of my hand.'_ His smirk blossomed into a cold smile. _'Humanity is destined for destruction. Just like two snakes biting at each other's tails.'_

Unable to contain his glee at the thought of what lay at the very end of his plans, Rau let out a slight chuckle.

* * *

JOSH-A

Submarine Pen

Mu looked around, frowning at the chaos in the submarine pen. There were an innumerable number of Earth Alliance troops waiting to board their submarines.

"Are they getting ready to move all these troops again…?" Mu asked as his gaze wandered the area. Beside him, Flay simply remained silent, not having anything to add.

Flay had been simply minding herself, not particularly caring about what the Commander might have been thinking, but Mu's next words quickly snapped her back to reality with shocking speed.

"Get in line, and show them your papers when it's your turn," the blonde fighter ace said.

"Huh?" Flay asked, jolting herself out of her stupor. "Commander? Wait, where are you –?"

"I'm just going to the bathroom. Watch my bags," Mu replied nonchalantly. As he took off running, he tossed his words to Flay over his shoulder. "I'll be back in a second!"

Mu turned a few corners, his mind suddenly racing. That feeling… that feeling of dread was screaming at him, which meant he had very little time to figure everything out.

'_Something's not right…'_ he thought as he continued to look around, going through corridors and rooms as fast as he could without attracting any attention. _'I know ZAFT's targeting Panama, but… we're leaving headquarters totally vulnerable!'_

That was when an explosion rocked the base, letting Mu know what the feeling of dread was about.

ZAFT had attacked the totally defenseless Alaska.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

Murrue and the rest of the bridge crew felt only shock coursing through their veins as the alarms sounded throughout the base. Murrue only jolted herself out of her stupor when Captain Sutherland appeared on the bridge's main screen.

"Captain Sutherland, what…?" she asked, but Sutherland quickly cut her off.

"_They tricked us… it looks like they changed their target…"_ he replied through grit teeth. _"Bring the _Archangel_ around and join the main group of the Defense Force. Protect the main gate."_

* * *

Earth Alliance Submarine _Pisces_

Alaskan Waters

"If ZAFT breaks through the main gate, Headquarters will be left completely vulnerable," Sutherland said.

On the other end of the line, Murrue saluted. _"Yes sir!"_ she replied. _"The _Archangel_ will defend the main gate!"_ With that, the comm. line was cut.

Sutherland smirked once the line was dead. "Just hang in there, guys…" he said. "At least long enough to hold back ZAFT…"

Sitting across from Sutherland, Colonel Moore and Vice-Admiral Michaels chuckled. As long as the _Archangel_ could hold the line… everything would fall perfectly into place.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Hangar

"Damn it…" John muttered as he rushed towards the hangar. "Who would've thought that ZAFT would take the gamble and attack JOSH-A…?"

When the sniper reached the hangar deck, however, he suddenly stopped upon noticing someone… someone he hadn't expected to be there.

"Liz…?" he questioned as he drew closer. Liz was looking up at the repaired Surge and Buster as they stood next to the GINN. Down, at the end of the row, the remains of Liz's Guardian were still there, not having been offloaded yet in spite of the lengthy time the ship had already been docked at Alaska.

"Hey, Liz… what are you…?"

The blonde-haired girl suddenly turned and looked John in the eye. The ex-ZAFT commander spotted tear streaks on the girl's face – had she been crying while she was here? Yet the look she was giving John ran contrary to her tears. Hers was a gaze full of defiance, and full of a fire John had seen in only a few others. It was almost as if she was daring him to say something about her tears.

"I'm going to fight, sir," Liz said, her tone quiet but containing steel within. "Since my brother's not around… I'm going to fight harder in his place. We're the only ones left who can protect the ship… so I can't keep crying forever."

John had already been forming something that he hoped would convince Liz from launching in her current state, but that one single quiet line she'd spoken – filled with nothing but honest sincerity and pure emotion – destroyed any resistance he was going to offer.

Instead, he gave Liz a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Just be careful out there," he said. "Live on for his sake. That's what he would want you to do in his stead."

Liz simply nodded, wiping away her tears and turning to run towards the Surge.

Behind her, John smiled, before he ran to his waiting mobile suit.

* * *

The _Cousteau_'s Hangar

As he sat patiently in the cockpit of his DINN, Rau Le Creuset glanced at his watch for a brief moment. It was nearly time for them to launch. So far, Operation Spitbreak was proceeding as planned… except for one unforeseen circumstance. The Alaric Team had been delayed due to a malfunction in the drives of one of their _Nazca_-class ships, and would be unable to arrive in time for the operation.

Rau had bit back a curse when he received the news. While this unexpected development did not in any way endanger the grand scheme of things, the Cyclops System could have removed a potential threat to his plans and saved him an enormous amount of trouble.

'_No matter… I'll simply deal with them when the time comes…'_ he thought as he watched the timer drop to zero.

"Yzak," he said over the comm. line.

"_Sir!" _Yzak said.

"I'll be scouting the inner defenses," Rau said. "I trust you'll be able to proceed as planned."

"_Yes, sir!"_ Yzak replied.

"Falkner, you have your orders as well," the masked commander continued. "Make sure nothing goes awry."

"_Of course, Commander,"_ Falkner's reply came barely a moment later.

"Good. We're launching."

The _Cousteau_'s three vertical catapults opened, ready for launch. Rau's silver DINN launched first, followed by the Duel, Shiho Hahnenfuss' CGUE DEEP Arms, and their Guuls. Falkner's lavender CGUE and Zane's blood red CGUE launched next with their own accompanying Guuls, with yet more mobile suits behind them.

"The curtain has risen," Rau said to himself. "And now it is time for the actors to show their talent."

* * *

JOSH-A

Submarine Pen

Flay was waiting in line to board her submarine. Commander La Flaga still hadn't returned, making Flay slightly worried for him, but she reassured herself that the man could take care of himself.

However, when an explosion rocked the room and alarms began sounding all over the base, Flay knew she couldn't just stay here. Still, the Commander had told her to wait here, but she just couldn't sit around while the _Archangel_, with her friends aboard, was in danger!

Making up her mind, she turned and ran out of the submarine pen.

* * *

Elsewhere

As the battle between ZAFT and the Alliance defenders raged on, a silver DINN slipped past unnoticed. It flew along the very edge of the battlefield, skimming past anti-air batteries and missile launchers before they could even have a chance to track the mobile suit. Soon, its target appeared right before it: a seemingly normal waterfall guarded by a pair of missile launchers.

The DINN's pilot effortlessly worked the controls, dodging the missiles with apparent ease before fearlessly plunging into the waterfall… and soaring through the tunnel it had concealed.

"Hmm… it appears Azrael's information was accurate," Rau said as he continued on his way, heading for the base's interior.

* * *

JOSH-A Main Naval Gate

ZAFT mobile suits filled the air and sped through Alaskan waters as they charged at their objective: JOSH-A's Main Naval Gate. However, guarding the gate was a formidable enemy whose presence more than surprised some of the pilots.

"Hey, is that… isn't that the legged ship?" one pilot asked as the majestic white warship's defenses opened fire on the team of ZAFT mobile suits, forcing them to break formation.

"_It matches how the reports described it,"_ another replied. _"Hey, think if we take it down, we'll receive some medals like Zala's kid?"_

"_Yeah!"_ a third whooped through the comm. line. _"A round of medals for everyone!"_

"_Cut the chatter!"_ the team's commander said from the cockpit of his CGUE. _"We have a –!"_

The man never finished his words as a beam lanced through his mobile suit, destroying it in an instant. The remaining ZAFT pilots turned to the source of the shot. Eyes widened in surprise as a dark-green mobile suit soared from the deck of the legged ship and landed on their dead commander's Guul.

Onboard the Surge, Liz's eyes narrowed. "You won't get by me," she said, her voice low. She lifted the hyper-impulse rifle from her wrecked Guardian and opened fire, consuming a pair of DINNs in a wide beam blast before skewering a GINN with a standard rifle shot.

The surviving ZAFT mobile suits quickly spread out, returning fire against the Guul-mounted Surge. Liz pulled the Surge and its Guul aside, dodging most of the shots. What few did manage to hit her mobile suit did little damage – if any – to its Phase Shift Armor.

The team's deputy commander swore. "Damn it, these machines are really as tough as the reports say, but even they can only take so much!" he said. "Keep on the –!"

Just like his commander before him, the deputy's GINN was suddenly speared by a beam, silencing him in a fiery explosion. Only this time, the beam had come from the legged ship.

On the deck of the _Archangel_, John sighted in using the scope of the beam sniper rifle he'd appropriated from the Strike's equipment. He pulled the trigger three more times, sending three beams lancing out in rapid succession. One shot speared through a GINN's head. The second shot through another GINN's Guul, sending the mobile suit plunging into the water. The third scored a DINN's chest, blowing off the entire upper torso.

Liz added her own shots to John's as the _Archangel_ let loose a furious barrage of beams, missiles, and CIWS fire. The Alaskan defenders – almost exclusively made up of troops and ships belonging to the Eurasian Federation – rallied at the sight of the _Archangel_'s efforts, adding their own weaponry to the effort.

While the battle raged up in the air, GOOhNs and ZnOs were making their own advance into the Earth Alliance lines. Unlike the aerial battle up above, where the _Archangel_ and its remaining mobile suits were anchoring a furious defense, the naval battle was simply a case of 'divide-and-conquer' for ZAFT, who were encountering virtually no resistance. Torpedoes and phonon masers struck their targets with ease, sinking several Earth Alliance ships.

John lowered his sniper rifle, taking note of the developments down below. "Damn, this isn't looking too good…" he murmured, before opening a comm. line to the Surge. "Liz, we're having problems down below. Can you handle things up here?"

"_Leave it to me,"_ Liz replied, her voice still subdued. _"I won't let a single one by me!"_

"Alright, then… I'm counting on you," John said. "Murdoch, prepare the bazooka and the underwater swords for me. I'm going under to deal with their aquatic mobile suits!"

"_Yes, sir!"_ Murdoch said, adding in the 'sir' on impulse. John sighed to himself as he brought his GINN down onto the _Archangel_'s open port catapult, where he took up sniping position as the new equipment was prepared.

A few minutes later, the black GINN emerged with a bazooka in its hands and the underwater-spec heat swords holstered on its hips. Fearlessly, John leaped off the catapult deck and into the waters below.

"_Huh? A GINN High Maneuver Type?"_ a GOOhN pilot of ZAFT's Messa Team asked. _"Is it part of the Alaric Team?"_

"Pilot of the GINN High Maneuver Type, identify yourself," Commander Zack Messa said from his ZnO.

"_This is Victor Cain, Officer of the Alaric Team. Serial Number ZM-211787,"_ John replied instantly. _"My thrusters have failed and I need help getting back to the surface." _

"Alright then," Messa replied, not noticing the GINN pointing its bazooka at him. "Jenkins, help him get to the –"

A rocket-propelled round struck Messa's ZnO, destroying him and his mobile suit. Two more explosive rounds streaked in at the ZAFT mobile suits, managing to catch an unsuspecting pair of GOOhNs before they could react.

"_Shit! An attack!"_ one of the surviving pilots shouted as he and his wingman charged the GINN, intending to ram it. However, John was much faster and possessed a wealth of experience. He pulled the trigger again, the bazooka round easily smashing into the first GOOhN, before using his mobile suit's free left hand to grab one of its heat swords and swing it, cutting apart the second GOOhN.

"Alright, who's next?" John said, eyes narrowing as more ZAFT mobile suits approached.

* * *

Elsewhere

Far away from the _Archangel_—and more particularly, its lethal mobile suits—the battle for JOSH-A was going poorly for the Earth Forces. ZuOOTs and BuCUEs were overrunning the Earth Alliance's tanks and gun batteries with ease. In the air, the Alliance fighters were simply no match for the combat power of ZAFT's mobile suits, as GINNs and DINNs effortlessly sent squadron after squadron down in flames before providing air support for their terrestrial counterparts.

Shiho almost idly fired off a burst of rounds from her rifle at a linear tank, destroying it, before shifting her aim to a missile truck and blasting it apart with her CGUE DEEP Arms' thermal cannons.

"These targets aren't any challenge at all," Yzak said as he aimed at a gun emplacement. He pulled the trigger, his beam rifle sending a green beam lancing into the emplacement, destroying it.

"_I find myself agreeing with you,"_ Zane agreed as he let loose with his own thermal cannon. _"__After fighting the legged ship for so long, fighting against such weak opponents feels dull and boring."_

Shiho snorted. _"__Fighting the Earth Forces on Earth has always been dull and boring. We can take this entire sector all on our own,"_ she replied. _"__I'd rather be in space, fighting mobile armors and warships. At least they can be a challenge with sufficient numbers."_

"_You want to try finding something better to hunt?"_ Zane asked eagerly, thinking of the potential for another shot at the legged ship.

Yzak hesitated. He knew exactly what Zane was suggesting, and, normally, he'd be sorely tempted to do so. However, Athrun had pulled him aside and told him about what he'd learned while he was with Orb. If Nicol was still alive, he might be on the legged ship, together with Saul and Dearka…

"_We've got our orders,"_ Shiho suddenly replied in a firm voice. Yzak breathed a sigh, silently thanking Shiho for saving him from answering. _"__This Operation is already enough of a mess if you ask me. We're not going to add to the chaos by running off and disobeying orders simply because we were bored."_

"_Of course not,"_ Zane replied, knowing that she was right. Of course, that didn't really matter to him, but he knew that Falkner was always watching over his shoulder. If he did anything that could jeopardize their plans… he knew that Rau's ruthless enforcer would shoot him in the back without any reservation.

* * *

Meanwhile

JOSH-A Northern Naval Gate

Falkner frowned as he continued to fire on the Earth Forces' paltry defense forces. He may have gone his separate way from Zane, Yzak, and Shiho… but he didn't even have to focus to rid himself of enemies as pathetic as these. There was nothing going wrong – there was nothing that _could_ go wrong, and yet… he found himself troubled.

There were many unpredictable factors in the current scenario; enough to prevent even someone as focused as Falkner from simply doing his job without reservation. Rau's apparent carelessness was just uncharacteristic of him, and – even if it was another one of the man's elaborate ruses – it didn't sit well with Falkner, not when they were so close to setting everything into motion. Of course, while many figures were out of their control, they still had enough people within their grasp to continue moving forward with impunity.

Zane was certainly a wild card in every sense… but he was predictable enough that he could still be reigned in should things proceed unfavorably. Overall, while the aggressive young teen could be worrisome at times, he wouldn't pose any real problems to their plans unless he openly rebelled against them. Should it ever reach that point, he'd be disposed of, like everyone else.

Patrick Zala and Muruta Azrael were definitely in the palm of Rau's hand, and would be easy to manipulate in the grand scheme of things. Both men were arrogant enough to believe they were orchestrating everything… which was also why they were both very foolish to think that way. Neither of them would realize that they were merely puppets… no, not even until the world's end.

That was where all their covered bases ended, unfortunately. All the remaining important figures in their plans were simply out of their reach, or, worse, were currently unaccounted for.

While there were many names that they needed to take note of… there were only five who were worth Falkner's attention. Yes, those five alone were the only ones he was after… It was because of them that someone like him had even been brought into existence!

"As such… it is only fitting that I bring an end to each and every one of you," Falkner said, smiling with a sinister sort of glee as he fired all four of his CGUE Assault's gatling cannons, sowing fiery destruction across the battlefield.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Brig

"Ugh, damn it!" Dearka cursed as the ship shuddered once again from missile hits. He was holding onto the bars of his cell in an attempt to keep himself steady. The massive battleship was going through a barrage of fire, but the _Archangel_ was built to be able to take a beating. It would take a lot more than this to bring it down. He was sure of that, especially after all the times he and his teammates hadn't succeeded in sinking it. Even then, that knowledge did _not_ help Dearka's mood as he was once again shaken off balance by another hit.

"Just what the hell is going on out there?" Dearka yelled.

"Isn't it obvious? JOSH-A's under attack," Saul replied lazily from his bed. The teen was simply holding onto the bed to weather the worst of the vibrations as the ship continued to come under fire.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Dearka exclaimed, clearly shocked. "Why is JOSH-A under attack? I thought we were going attack Panama!" They knew they weren't at Panama - Miriallia had always taken a few minutes to talk to the three captured pilots whenever she came by to bring them their meals.

"Apparently, everyone else is thinking the same thing," Nicol said from where he was also holding onto his bed. The green-haired boy was breaking out in a cold, nervous sweat. He never did like being unable to help out in prolonging his own life. "But, it looks like the real target is Alaska."

The _Archangel_ shook under yet another hit. Dearka, caught off-guard by the sudden hit, lost his balance and banged his head against one of the bars before falling over onto the ground.

"Ow! Damn it!" he swore as he shook off the slight daze from the impact.

"You okay, Dearka?" Nicol asked, more than a little concerned for his friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded, rubbing his forehead. "It's just a bruise."

"It could get a lot worse than just that bruise," Saul said. "If this ship goes down, we're going down with it."

* * *

JOSH-A Interior

Mu ran through the eerily empty corridors of the base, searching for the _Archangel_ and any information that would point him towards what was really happening here. As he neared the base's command center, a familiar sensation – a strange, almost pressure-like feeling – washed over him. The blonde fighter ace's eyes widened ever so slightly as he realized that it was the exact same feeling he got whenever Rau Le Creuset was nearby.

Creeping up to the command center's entrance, Mu peered inside. The room was devoid of human life save for one man – a ZAFT Whitecoat Mu quickly recognized as Rau Le Creuset – who stood over a console doing god-knows-what. Before he could do anything, though, Rau suddenly spun around and fired. Mu pulled back, his head barely dodging the bullets while the masked ZAFT commander quickly took off towards a side door.

Not willing to let the man just get away, Mu ran into the room and fired at Rau, who used the doorframe of the side entrance for cover from Mu's fire. Mu used the opportunity to move towards a console, using it for his own cover.

"It's been a while, Mu La Flaga," Rau greeted, though his sinister tone was far from welcoming. "Unfortunately, I don't have the time to be fooling around with you. Though we've only just met again, I must apologize for leaving so soon." The masked man suddenly laughed coldly. "But, if you're still hanging around here, then your usefulness to the Earth Alliance is almost at an end. Oh, Hawk of Endymion, how the mighty have fallen!"

Rau laughed once more, firing a few more rounds in Mu's direction before taking off in a run.

Mu quickly rose up, his impulses telling him to follow the man, but his rational side took over. He needed to know why Rau was here, and what he was doing. Moving to the computer that Rau had been standing over, Mu felt his blood go ice-cold as soon as he laid eyes on what was displayed on the monitor.

There were very few things that terrified Mu… and this was definitely one of them. This was something he wished that he'd never have to see again after what had happened at Endymion.

"No…" he whispered, his shock and disbelief quickly replaced by anger and rage. "They wouldn't… those bastards…!"

* * *

Elsewhere

Flay ran through the base's corridors, wishing for what was probably the hundredth time that she'd paid better attention to the route that she and the commander had taken when they left the _Archangel_. She was hopelessly lost in the massive base, which seemed to have been built more like a labyrinth. As she ran, the redhead quickly and idly wondered why it had been built that way.

When she reached an intersection, she felt her hopes lift when another Earth Alliance soldier stepped out from another direction. However, his words sent them crashing down just as quickly.

"A ZAFT soldier!" he shouted, drawing his sidearm and pointing it down the hallway he was looking at. His finger was already squeezing his weapon's trigger.

The sound of a single shot erupted, and the Earth Forces soldier fell to his side, his dying body tripping the hidden Flay in the process. Flay shrieked as she stumbled from her hiding place. She quickly looked up in the direction from where the shot had come from, and froze in fear.

Standing there was a masked man in a white ZAFT uniform. In his hand was a still smoking handgun. Flay looked around, hoping – wishing – that someone would come to her rescue… but it quickly became painfully obvious to her that no one would be coming. She then looked around for the next best thing: something with which she could defend herself. She noticed the fallen soldier's gun and picked it up, pointing it at the man with shaking hands.

"Well, well… what have we here…?" the man asked, more intrigued than anything. He'd been on the battlefield for most of his mortal life – he knew a soldier when he saw one, and this girl in front of him clearly wasn't acting like one. Was it the intense fear that he could feel clearly radiating from the very core of her being…? Or… was it something else?

Flay's eyes widened in shock. That voice… it sounded just like her father's. But, that should have been impossible. He'd died so many months ago. She saw the ship he was on explode right before her eyes! This man standing before her didn't even remotely resemble her late father… so why did he sound exactly like him?

"Why…?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Why do you sound like my daddy?"

The man standing in front of her didn't react. Or, if he did, any surprise he might have felt was hidden by his mask. Instead, he simply rushed towards her at a blinding speed. He was fast –much faster than Flay. It was over in an instant.

The shock from his fist connecting with Flay's stomach forced her finger to jerk, firing a single shot from the pistol before she was overcome by darkness, falling unconsciously into the man's arms.

* * *

Meanwhile

Mu rushed towards the nearest hangar, willing his body to go faster than it ever had in his life. His heart was pounding and his lungs were burning for air as he ran, but he simply forced himself not to slow down for an instant. No matter what, he just had to warn everyone on the _Archangel_ before it was too late for them to escape!

Upon reaching a hangar, Mu slowed to a halt as he witnessed the utter destruction. Debris littered the hangar floor and most of the hangar crew was trying to put out a fire that erupted at the far wall of the large space. Mu's hopes lifted as he caught sight of a few intact Spearhead fighters sitting in the hangar.

Looking around for someone he could talk to, Mu found the hangar's comm. console and a Eurasian Federation soldier manning it.

"What? They've been completely wiped out? That's impossible!" the soldier said.

Mu quickly ran up to the man. "Hey! Who's in charge here?" he asked.

The soldier turned to him, the console forgotten for the time being. "Ah… At the moment, sir, you're the only ranking officer here."

"Then get out of here, now! The base is being abandoned!" Mu informed the soldier urgently. "Gather as many survivors as you can and get everyone at least ten kilometers from the base as quickly as possible!"

The Eurasian soldier blinked, unsure of what to make of the commander's words. "Ten kilometers? I don't understand, sir."

"Just get out of here, NOW!"

The soldier nodded. "Ah… Y-yes, sir." He saluted, and ran off.

Not bothering to watch him gather the hangar crew and flee the area, Mu rushed to the nearest fighter, grabbing a discarded pilot helmet along the way. He quickly climbed into the cockpit and started the fighter up, going through only the critical portions of the checklist. A few moments later, Mu was in the air, heading for the _Archangel_'s last known coordinates.

* * *

JOSH-A Main Naval Gate

John's black GINN broke the water's surface, appearing to the port side of the _Archangel_.

"_Archangel_, I've taken care of the underwater units for now, but we can be sure more will be on their way," John said as he brought his mobile suit up and out of the water. "I'm returning for resupply."

"_Roger that,"_ Mir responded. In Flay's absence, the other female amongst the volunteers was now pulling double-duty as communications officer. _"Liz is coming back in as well."_

John frowned. Resupplying at the same time? That wasn't good timing. "I don't have ammo left in the bazooka," he reported. "I'll just rearm and head back out to provide cover while Liz gets resupplied. If it'll take too long, just have her switch over to the Buster!"

"_Understood."_

The GINN landed on the starboard mobile suit catapult while the port catapult opened to admit Liz and the Surge. As the hatch closed behind him, John moved over to the weapons rack he'd set up in the starboard catapult and switched out the bazooka and heat swords for the beam sniper rifle, loading some extra energy packs onto the customized GINN's ammo racks as it received a quick recharge.

As soon as he turned back to the catapult hatch, a barrage of missiles hit the _Archangel_'s starboard leg head on, blowing the hatch apart and exposing the catapult. John swore as he worked the controls, keeping the mobile suit steady as Neumann struggled to get the ship balanced once again.

"Damn it, we better get some reinforcements soon," the sniper said grimly as he moved out and opened fire. "Otherwise… there probably won't be anyone left to save when they _do_ get here."

* * *

Mu brought his fighter over the battlefield, eyes searching frantically for the _Archangel_. He did his best to stay out of immediate combat – the last thing he needed was to get slowed on his way to the _Archangel_, and that could potentially seal their fate.

A GINN fired up at Mu, forcing the blonde man to pull aside, swearing as he did so. He fired back, sending a single missile at the GINN. The ZAFT pilot was caught off-guard by the sudden launch, and tried to pull out of the way far too late. The missile smashed right into his GINN's mono-eye, blinding the pilot as his main camera went offline.

Before the ZAFT pilot could recover, Mu quickly gunned his engines, continuing on his way. He couldn't spend time fighting… not when the lives of his friends and comrades on that ship were at stake.

As Mu flew over JOSH-A's Main Gate, he saw the _Archangel_, battered, smoking, but still fighting. It was surrounded by other Earth Alliance ships, who'd obviously built their defensive lines around the powerful warship.

"There she is!" Mu said, a grin lighting up his features. "Good, she's still alive!"

Even with the support of other Alaskan defenders, the _Archangel_ had already taken a massive beating. Smoke poured from where several missiles had connected with the powerful warship, including where one of the Valiants had once been. One of the catapults had been blasted wide open, while the other catapult hatch was admitting the Surge and its commandeered Guul.

Standing on top of the _Archangel_'s deck was the black GINN of John Alaric. Devastatingly accurate beam fire continued to lance out from the GINN's borrowed beam sniper rifle, downing mobile suits with single, well-placed shots.

Mu brought his fighter down, heading right for the _Archangel_. He quickly opened a comm. line, attempting to contact the warship and warn Murrue and the others before things took a turn for the worse. Before Mu could break through the radio wave interference, a GINN spotted the Spearhead and opened fire with its rifle.

The blonde fighter ace saw the GINN fire and pulled his fighter aside in a last ditch attempt to evade, but he was too slow. A single round struck his fighter on the wing, sending it in a barely controllable descent.

Mu swore and opened the comm. line again. "_Archangel_! _Archangel_, this is La Flaga, come in! _Archangel_, come in!" Mu called out, getting only static in reply.

"Ah, damn it!" he swore. Either their radio was damaged, or his was.

"Well, guess I've got no choice," he said as he brought his fighter around. "Clear the way, because I'm coming through!"

Mu aimed his fighter for the gaping hole in the damaged catapult and took his chances. His fighter barely made it through, crashing into the catapult deck and skidding uncontrollably until it was caught by the hastily erected crash net. Not wasting any time, Mu popped the cockpit hatch and leaped out, simply discarding his borrowed helmet as he headed out of the hangar.

Chief Murdoch and the hangar crew, along with Liz, simply stared after the blonde fighter ace in surprise.

"Hey… Chief Murdoch," Liz said after taking a sip from her water bottle. "Wasn't the lieutenant commander transferred off the ship?"

The _Archangel_'s chief engineer simply shrugged. "Well, kid…" he replied, a rueful grin on his features. "I guess it didn't stick."

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

"Captain!" Mu shouted as he entered the bridge, urgency pushing aside the fact that he was nearly out of breath from running the entire way to the bridge.

Murrue turned around, surprise written all across her features. "What the hell are you doing here, Commander?" she asked. "What about your new posting?"

"Forget that! It's not important!" Mu replied as he moved over to Murrue's chair. "We have to get out of here right now!"

Murrue was suddenly confused. "What?"

"There's a large Cyclops System underneath Headquarters!" Mu said, shocking the bridge crew. "It's powerful enough to turn everything within ten kilometers of the base into a blast furnace! There aren't enough forces left to defend the base long enough for reinforcements to arrive! Soon, the defenders will be overrun, and ZAFT will reach the base interior! That's when they'll activate the System and destroy the base, and, in the process, take out more than half of ZAFT's fighting strength! That's the scenario of this whole battle as imagined by the top brass!"

Murrue's expression was nothing short of horrified. "That can't be!" she said, trying to convince herself that Mu was wrong.

"I swear to you I saw it with my own eyes," Mu said firmly. "The command center is abandoned. The only ones that are left are the Eurasian forces and the _Archangel_ because those bigwigs have given up on her!"

Arnold turned back. "So they left us here to die?" he asked.

"Only after we give them a desperate struggle so the enemy doesn't know that it's been abandoned," Mu replied angrily.

"Wh-what kind of strategy is this?" Mir choked out, her voice trembling. "This is a war… and we're all supposed to be good soldiers. If they tell us to, I guess we're just supposed to throw away our lives." The moment Mu had mentioned the Cyclops System, everything had come crashing down. The memories that had kept Mir awake the past few nights – repeated images and nightmares of the deaths of Kira, Chris, and Tolle because of this stupid war – surged back to the surface as she broke down.

Murrue scowled. They, and everyone else left in JOSH-A, had been left to die by their own commanders. Everyone was silent, with only the distress calls from various Alliance defenders being heard throughout the warship's bridge.

"_This is the _Grant_! The Northern Naval Gate is lost! I repeat, ZAFT has breached the North Gate!"_

"…_We're being overrun! There're too many of them! We need assistance!"_

"_The entire Sixth Air Defense Force has been wiped out! Command! We need reinforcements! Command? Come in, Command!"_

"_This is the 14th Armored Battalion! We need reinforcements! We need rein… AAAAGH –!"_

Murrue came to a decision – one that she knew in her heart to be the right one.

"If the whole objective of this battle was to lure the ZAFT forces closer in, then, in my opinion, this ship has already completed its objective," she said. To ensure her crew's safety, she spoke again. "Note that I, Murrue Ramius, Captain of the _Archangel_, make this decision alone. No other member of the ship's crew is to be held responsible."

Mu looked at Murrue, a look of concern on his features. "Hey, don't put too much pressure on yourself, Captain," he said.

Murrue ignored the blonde fighter ace as she stood up and issued her orders. "This ship will now abandon the battle area and make its withdrawal! Inform Mr. Alaric and Liz of what's happened and then signal the other ships to follow us! Engines to maximum! Set sights on the left side of the bay! We're going to hit them with everything we've got and break through!"

"This won't be an easy battle for us," Mu commented as Murrue took her seat. "I'm launching as well."

Murrue turned to look at Mu. "But, Commander –!"

"Don't worry," Mu replied with a slight smile. "Remember, I'm the guy who makes the impossible possible."

* * *

The _Cousteau_'s Hangar

Zane smirked to himself as he launched from the _Cousteau_ once more. They'd been in the process of some quick maintenance and resupply when the Commander had returned. Yzak had been more than eager to join the rest of the forces heading for the base interior, but Rau had shaken his head, telling them that JOSH-A's main gate was still standing due to the presence of the legged ship. He'd given them the order to assist the attack on the main gate and try to take down the legged ship while they were at it.

Thus, even if the Cyclops System were to activate, they would still have more than enough time to escape before the blast reached them… unless they got shot down beforehand, of course. And, even if they couldn't take out the legged ship, then the Cyclops System would do the job for them.

"_It looks like you got your wish, Zane," _Shiho said as her CGUE DEEP Arms cleared the catapult and landed on its Guul. _"We're going hunting for the toughest prey the Earth Forces can offer."_

"Just don't get overconfident, Hahnenfuss," Zane replied. "Like you said, it's the toughest they have, and it can definitely fight back hard. But, if we can take it out… then our victory is cemented."

Yzak nodded in agreement, half-hearted though it was. Still, he was a soldier, and he had to complete the tasks set before him by his superior. His own thoughts and emotions mattered little on the battlefield.

Stifling a resigned sigh, Yzak opened a comm. line to the rest of the team. "Alright, listen up, everybody!" he said. "We're going after the legged ship! And we're going to destroy that ship once and for all!"

* * *

JOSH-A Main Naval Gate

Mu swerved as a DINN fired at him, sending out a stream of machine gun fire. As the fighter ace maneuvered through the storm of hot lead, he quickly pulled the trigger, firing the Launcher Skygrasper's Agni at the offending mobile suit. The angry red beam tore through the left half of the DINN, the critically damaged exploding as Mu passed it by.

Unfortunately, the elation at his success was short lived, as a warning lit up on his console, making him look down at the main gate just in time to see a barrage of missiles impact with the massive steel door, blowing it apart.

"Okay, we've given you the main gate…" Mu said as ZAFT mobile suits rushed through the opening. "Why don't you just let us go, now…?" Unfortunately, ZAFT didn't seem too keen to do that, as yet another wave of mobile suits closed in with the _Archangel_ and opened fire.

"This is just insane…" Liz said softly as she opened fire, forcing the ZAFT forces to break formation. "Who in their right mind would simply abandon their soldiers and leave them to die…? Why don't they realize that they're throwing away lives and making all these sacrifices meaningless?"

A beam lanced out from the _Archangel_, skewering a DINN. _"It's because they can use it to win,"_ John suddenly replied. _"There are those who'll do anything to emerge as the victor, regardless of all the wasted lives… but we can worry about this sort of talk later. For now, we have to focus on _surviving_."_

"Right…" Liz replied as she moved forward to help clear a path for the _Archangel_ and their Eurasian allies. An alarm sounded throughout the Surge's cockpit, alerting her to a large group of missiles heading towards her – or, to be more specific, the large warship flying behind her.

Liz opened fire on the missiles with her hyper-impulse rifle and Igelstellungs, gunning down as many of the warheads as possible before moving forward towards their source. Twin beams from the _Archangel_'s Gottfried lanced out, gutting one of the _Vosgulov_-class submarines and sending it up in a ball of flame. Encouraged, Liz pushed forward, intent on opening a hole in the ZAFT formation.

"_Heads up!"_ Mu suddenly called out over the comm. unit, forcing Liz to suddenly stop her charge. _"We've got company!"_

As if to punctuate the point, a large hyper-velocity slug tore through the air between Liz, Mu, and the _Archangel_, missing all three but striking an _Arkansas_-class, sinking the ship.

Both pilots looked up in the direction from where the shot had come from, spotting the Duel as it approached, flanked by a familiar blood-red CGUE and an equally unfamiliar deep-blue CGUE. Behind them were a group of GINNs and DINNs. With that much firepower, it was obvious what their target was.

Yzak looked at the two Earth Alliance machines. There was that fighter that was always tangling with Dearka… and then there was the Surge. The silver-haired pilot felt his grip unconsciously tighten on the controls and quickly tried to force himself to calm down. It was theirs to begin with… of course they'd use it if they could get it repaired. Still… that was the machine that Saul had been…

He shook his head. No, he couldn't let it get personal. Athrun had avenged his only grudge against that ship. This was all simply a matter of personal honor.

"The fighter's mine…" he growled out. "Zane, Hōsenka, do what you want with the mobile suit and the legged ship." With that said, he gunned his thrusters and moved ahead of the group.

Mu quickly fired a blast from the Agni, but the Duel dodged it with a calm ease.

"I'm not the Buster! You're not going to take me down that easily!" Yzak said, returning fire with his beam rifle and Shiva railgun.

Mu swore as a shot pierced the Agni, forcing him to eject the Launcher Striker before it exploded. Whatever the Duel pilot's problems had been… he'd clearly gotten over it and was now a much more potent threat than ever before. He was definitely more dangerous than that blonde in the brig that Mu was so used to fighting.

That, and… well, the Duel had beam sabers. If he finally got tired of playing this game and decided to close in, Mu knew he would be in serious trouble.

Zane smirked as they approached the legged ship. _"Well, Hahnenfuss?"_ he asked. _"What's it going to –?" _He suddenly cut himself off as he pulled aside, narrowly evading a beam as it cut through the airspace he'd been occupying a split-second ago.

The Surge descended towards him, firing another shot from its rifle. Zane brought his shield up, deflecting the shots, before returning fire with his thermal cannon.

"_Well, Scirocco, I guess someone's decided they don't like you very much,"_ Shiho replied, doing little to mask her obvious amusement at Zane's predicament.

Zane simply swore as he exchanged shots with the Surge, before he fired his CGUE's missiles along with those of the Guul's. The Surge let loose with the missiles of its own Guul, while its Igelstellungs and lit up the air between the mobile suits. The two sets of Guul missiles obliterated each other, while the CGUE's missiles were systematically shot down by the Surge's Igelstellungs. Still, the barrage had done its job, creating a smoke cloud that masked Zane's next move from the Surge.

Smiling at the irony of using a tactic that Leon Vanyel frequently employed, Zane drew his sword, and was about to throw it. However, the Surge's pilot apparently had the same idea – and quite possibly the same inspiration for the trick – as an object shot out of the cloud, latching onto the right arm of Zane's CGUE and stopping its movements.

Zane cursed as the Surge shot through the cloud, sword drawn. He raised his shield and opened fire with his vulcan, forcing the Surge's pilot to release the CGUE's arm and evade the stream of bullets.

On top of the _Archangel_, John fired at a pair of DINNs. His first shot struck the lead DINNs head, blinding its pilot temporarily, while his second shot scored the mobile suit's wing, sending it falling into the ocean. John fired again, piercing the second mobile suit's torso, destroying it instantly.

"You're not sinking this ship," he said. "Not while I'm still standing."

Warning klaxons alerted the sniper to a pair of beams as they lanced in at the _Archangel_, forcing him to leap back. John quickly scanned the area for the source of those shots, though it wasn't very hard to find it. A deep-blue CGUE, cannons on its shoulders, made its presence known as it fired again, forcing John to keep his mobile suit's head down.

"Damn… to think they've already got prototype beam weapons out on the field…" he murmured as he opened fire on the heavily-modified CGUE.

His eyes widened slightly as the mobile suit evaded his shots with ease and returned fire, managing to score a glancing hit on the GINN High Maneuver's left shoulder. John swore as he raised his rifle, sighting in on the CGUE. This pilot was good, very good… It had been a while since he'd had to try so hard to shoot down his opponent.

A blessing came when the _Archangel_ fired off some missiles at the CGUE, forcing it to shift focus for a brief moment to evade or otherwise gun the missiles down. But that moment was all John needed as he locked on.

As the CGUE turned its attention back to him and raised its cannons, John pulled the trigger… but was rewarded not with an explosion, but with a whine as the beam sniper rifle fired a half-cohesive beam that merely scratched the paint on the CGUE's torso before its charge completely ran out. The CGUE's return fire proved hardly ineffective, as beams skewered the GINN's right arm at the elbow, its left leg at the hip, and its right leg at the knee. The wrecked mobile suit crashed down onto the _Archangel_'s hull, smoke rising from where the CGUE's shots had struck the badly damaged mobile suit.

"Gah! Damn it!" John cursed. He was out of the fight… all because of a combination of carelessness and unfortunate coincidence. Still, the real proble was… with him down, it was up to Mu and Liz to cover the _Archangel_. With the three of them protecting the ship, the odds had hardly seemed favorable. Now, they were nearly impossible unless a miracle occurred.

Seeing that the sniper was out of the action, the ZAFT pilots surged forward with renewed vigor, mercilessly hounding the _Archangel_. Several GINNs with D-Type equipment let loose, while DINNs flitting about added their own payload of missiles to the bombardment. As the return fire from the _Archangel _shot down as many missiles as it could from the sky along with several mobile suits, an opportunistic GINN pilot found an opening in the defensive fire and swooped down, squeezing through it.

The GINN slowed to a halt in front of the _Archangel_'s bridge, its assault rifle aimed at the bridge crew. Murrue, Neumann, and the rest of the bridge crew all stared in horror and fear at the rifle that was poised to fire. Many instinctively ducked; others used their arms to cover their heads, while some of the other members just closed their eyes in fear of death.

"NO!" John screamed, reaching out towards the GINN from the cockpit of his crippled mobile suit. He couldn't do anything!

Mu and Liz both turned their attentions away from their own battles for a brief moment upon hearing John's desperate cry. Their eyes widened at the sight of the GINN, and both attempted to break off from their respective battles even as they realized that, at this distance, they couldn't do anything without risking the destruction of the _Archangel_'s bridge as well.

Time slowed to a crawl for everyone as the GINN began to pull the trigger. The rifle's barrel glowed for a split second, hot lead poised to escape its muzzle and destroy the bridge. Mu and Liz could only watch in utter horror the GINN as its pilot prepared to render all the sacrifices made for the _Archangel_'s safety meaningless.

It was at that instant that, as if the heavens themselves desired the _Archangel_'s continued survival, an emerald green beam from above tore through the GINN's rifle, destroying the weapon without damaging the ship it was obviously protecting. All eyes that had witnessed the rifle's destruction all turned their attention upwards to the source of the beam. More than a dozen set of eyes widened as a white mobile suit unlike any other descended towards the _Archangel_ and the GINN with impossible speed.

The mobile suit, still moving at full speed, drew a beam saber from its hip and sliced the GINN's head off before its pilot could even react. The ZAFT pilot wisely chose to back off as the new arrival took up its place before the _Archangel_'s bridge. The heat sinks on the mobile suit's chest opened as the machine adjusted to cooler temperatures, obviously having been exposed to the extreme temperature levels that came with atmospheric reentry. Its majestic blue wings spread wide, almost as if to shield the _Archangel_ from further harm.

As if to herald the unit's arrival and its pilot's obvious desire to protect the _Archangel_, several massive yellow-gold beams rained down from the heavens in a seemingly random pattern, blanketing the area around the _Archangel_ with a curtain of fire that only served to protect the massive warship from the attacking ZAFT forces. Eyes again turned upwards, watching as another new mobile suit descended, taking up a position beside the first.

Alliance and ZAFT troops alike stared at the two new mobile suits, dumbstruck with the sheer majesty and power that seemed to radiate from its form. Every participant in the battle had stopped fighting momentarily as they beheld the newcomers with awe.

The first mobile suit's chest area was black, with its midsection colored blue and white. Its ten wings were all primarily blue, but the first and third wings on either side each bore a distinct black stripe on their upper edge. Its head, lower torso, and limbs all proudly bore a pristine white that gleamed beneath the sun's rays. It carried a beam rifle in its right hand, and a sleek shield in its left. It projected a powerful, majestic aura that made all others, even the Duel and the Surge, seem small and insignificant before it.

The second mobile suit bore a design similar to its companion's, though at the same time gave off its own distinct aura that set it apart from its compatriot. It bore a sleek design similar to the first mobile suit's, but with a more angular torso, more decorative, multi-layered shoulder armor, and a pair of large, bird-like wings. Both were primarily a midnight blue, with the suit's midsection colored red. White dominated the rest of the mobile suit, with splashes of midnight blue, gold, and red accenting its forearms, waist, and wings. Its head bore a very decorative v-fin that looked much more suited to a ceremonial piece rather than a war machine. It carried a large two-barreled rifle in its right hand, while attached to its left forearm was an aerodynamic shield with what appeared to be a sharp, almost dagger-like object protruding from its tip.

The _Archangel_'s comm. system came to life as the new arrival patched into their comm. channel. _"This is Kira Yamato,"_ a familiar voice said. _"I'll cover you. Meanwhile, please, withdraw to safety."_

A collective gasp was heard from the _Archangel_'s bridge crew and the warship's remaining pilots. That voice… it couldn't be…

"K-Kira…?" Murrue gasped. It was unbelievable… and yet there was no mistaking that voice…

"_Captain, now isn't the time!"_ came another voice that everyone couldn't believe they were hearing. _"We'll keep the enemy occupied while the ship withdraws! Hurry!"_

Liz froze. "C-Chris…?" she whispered, tears coming to her eyes. "… Is it…?"

Within the Ark's cockpit, Chris gave a small, apologetic smile, even if Liz couldn't see it right now. "Yeah… I know there's a lot to say, but we can talk when everything's done," he said. "Leave things to us and pull back. Okay?"

"_O… Okay…"_ came Liz's choked reply as she complied, withdrawing towards the _Archangel_.

Meanwhile, the ZAFT forces had shaken off the collective surprise that had gripped them for those brief moments when the two new mobile suits had intervened in the conflict. GINNs and DINNs once again surged forward, resuming their assault on the _Archangel_ and the other Alliance defenders.

From the cockpits of their respective mobile suits, Kira and Chris gave the other a glance and a nod, knowing now what it was that they had to do. Kira, understanding like never before just what it was that set him apart from everyone else, visualized an amethyst, jewel-like seed as it rushed through his mind and shattered in a brilliant explosion of light. He gunned the Freedom's thrusters and flew forward, Chris falling in behind and following his lead.

The Freedom's main console rose up as its advanced targeting systems activated, sounding out dozens of times as it locked onto every available target before the Freedom. Kira's eyes narrowed as its side skirt unfolded, revealing themselves as a pair of hip-mounted rail cannons, and a pair of large cannons flipped out from the Freedom's expanded wings and settled over the white mobile suit's shoulders.

The brunet squeezed the trigger, and unleashed an image that would forever be seared into the minds and hearts of all who saw it. The Freedom's Lupus beam rifle, Balaena plasma beam cannons and Xiphias rail cannons all fired as one in a single burst. The massive barrage tore through the ZAFT forces with unbelievable precision and accuracy, destroying the heads, limbs, and weapons of dozens of ZAFT mobile suits without striking a single cockpit.

"Wh-what the hell was that?" Yzak yelled, unable to believe just what he'd seen. That level of firepower… and the overwhelming precision with which it disabled its targets… just what was that thing?

Shiho felt herself go slightly cold in fear of this new weapon. "This is…" she whispered. "What is this mobile suit?"

Stunned pilots of both damaged and undamaged mobile suits backed away from the winged mobile suits, unsure of what to do in the face of such overwhelming firepower. However, not all were intimidated, as more mobile suits charged into the fray, intent on being the one to shoot down this new machine.

However, the Ark suddenly moved forward, placing itself between the Freedom and the ZAFT forces. To the surprise of all who were watching, the Ark suddenly split its massive two-barreled rifle down the middle, separating it into two individual rifles which it hefted in either hand. Chris raised both rifles and took aim, adjusting the weapons' power settings as the computer sounded out the solid tones of a good target lock.

Chris pulled the triggers repeatedly. The Ark's Crepusculum buster rifles fired alternately, sending out a barrage of yellow-gold beams at the advancing ZAFT forces. Several shots quickly and effortlessly disabled their targets with the same ease with which the Freedom had disabled its own targets, forcing the remaining ten to quickly scatter, creating two distinct groups as they continued their reckless charge.

Chris flicked the switches for the power settings once again as he leveled both rifles at the two groups of mobile suits. This time, he didn't even wait for the targeting computer to sound out, raising his rifles in the general direction of the two groups and firing. Both rifles gathered energy at the tip of their barrels for a moment before a pair of large, high-density beams erupted from the rifles, punching a hole through both groups and consuming half a dozen mobile suits.

"_Please stop wasting time and withdraw!"_ Kira said, appearing on the main screen of the _Archangel_'s bridge. _"You've got to get out of there, now!"_

"Yes, but…" Murrue replied, hesitating. "Well… there's… a Cyclops. Beneath Headquarters! We're all just bait. They planned this! We had no idea!"

Kira felt his body go cold in shock for a brief moment.

"_That's why we can't withdraw!"_ Murrue continued. _"We need to get further away from the base!"_

"I understand," Kira replied as he rolled the Freedom, dodging several missiles and shots before returning fire with the Balaena, blowing apart a pair of GINNs. He knew now just what it was he needed to do. _This_ was his real enemy!

"Chris!" he called out as he pulled his shield up, stopping several DINN missiles from hitting the Freedom. Kira burst through the smoke cloud and fired his Lupus beam rifle, blowing the offending DINN's head clean off. "Cover the _Archangel_! I'm going to try to get ZAFT to retreat!"

"_I'm on it!"_ Chris replied as the Ark moved forward. Chris aimed his rifles to the left and right, firing them and shooting down a pair of mobile suits. He crossed them over, aiming them to their opposite sides, and fired again. Looking up, he fired a pair of shots at an incoming formation of mobile suits. The enemy pilots quickly split apart, creating a gap in their formation for Chris to fly into. He raised both rifles and leveled them to the groups on either side, and fired.

A pair of massive beams split the sky around the Ark, tearing through ZAFT mobile suits left and right. Chris rotated the Ark, adjusting his line of fire to catch as many enemy missiles and mobile suits within his range as he could before they could even get close to the _Archangel_. A trail of explosions followed the Ark's beams as they swept across the aerial battlefield, tearing through anything they came into contact with and swatting dozens of ZAFT mobile suits and missiles from the sky.

As Chris dealt with the advancing ZAFT forces, Kira opened an outgoing comm. line on all channels, intent on saving as many lives as he could. "Attention, all ZAFT and Earth Alliance Forces," he said as he brought up the Freedom's targeting system, locking onto incoming missiles and mobile suits as he flew forward with all weapons ready. "The Alaska Base is armed with a Cyclops System that is about to detonate." He opened fire with all of the Freedom's weapons, destroying inbound missiles and disarming or outright disabling enemy mobile suits. "Both sides, please cease fighting and withdraw from this area immediately! I repeat: the Cyclops System will activate and the Alaska Base will self-destruct. Both sides, please cease fighting and withdraw from this area immediately!"

More confusion spread through the ranks of soldiers and commanders who were fighting. Was this a bluff to try and get ZAFT to retreat…? Or was this kid actually speaking the truth and they were mere moments away from being annihilated? A few pilots decided it was better to be safe than sorry, and fell back, claiming that they needed to resupply. Most others, confused by everything that had happened over the last few minutes, did nothing. The rest simply ignored Kira and resumed their attack on the base and its defenders.

Among those who ultimately chose to ignore Kira's warning were Yzak and Zane, who rushed at the Freedom and Ark. While Zane was simply driven by a desire to see these newcomers destroyed, Yzak found that he was driven by curiosity and doubt. Who was this pilot, that he'd try and get both sides to stop fighting… and why did it feel like he'd heard his voice before?

"I'm not falling for that!" Yzak said as he opened fire on the white mobile suit. The Freedom spun, deflecting Yzak's shots with its shield. Within, Kira's eyes narrowed as the Duel approached, drawing a beam saber.

Kira stored his rifle as well, intercepting the Duel's attack with his shield. Undeterred, Yzak brought up the Duel's left arm and swung a punch, but Kira had seen it coming, and caught the Duel's fist with its empty right hand.

Not the least bit discouraged, Yzak brought the Duel's Shiva railgun to bear, aiming it at the Freedom's head. Kira's unique awareness, however, afforded him supreme reaction speed far greater than any Coordinator. Kira moved the Freedom's head out of Yzak's line of fire, allowing the railgun round to harmlessly pass through the empty space between the mobile suit's head and shoulder armor.

Yzak suddenly lunged forward, striking the Freedom's head with the Duel's own in a mobile suit-sized head butt. He quickly followed up with a slash from his beam saber while the Freedom was off-balance, but Kira had already used the momentum from the impact to open up some space between the Freedom and the Duel.

The Duel's saber sliced through nothing but air as the Freedom fell back… before it suddenly flipped over with amazing agility and rushed back at the Duel, beam saber drawn and poised to slice right through the other mobile suit's midsection.

Yzak screamed in horror as he watched the beam saber slowly approach his cockpit. Was this… it…?

Even as memories of Elle, that girl whose life had been unknowingly ended by the Duel pilot's hand, surfaced, Kira never forgot just what it was he was fighting for. His path… it had to be strong enough to include all. A life for a life would never resolve anything!

It was with these thoughts flowing through his mind and heart that Kira lowered his beam saber, instead slicing right through the Duel's legs.

"Stop fighting and just get the hell out of here!" Kira yelled as he turned and delivered a kick to the Duel's back, sending it falling towards the ocean. Shiho's CGUE DEEP Arms swooped in, catching the stricken Duel before it hit the waters and carrying it back towards the fleet of ZAFT submarine carriers.

"_Yzak, are you alright?"_ Shiho asked. _"I'm getting you back to the _Cousteau_."_

"He didn't… But why…?" Yzak whispered, utterly confused. The pilot of that white mobile suit had a clear chance to take his life… When you have a chance to take your opponent's life, you'd normally take it… and yet that pilot clearly had no intention of ending his – or anyone else's – life. It… it just ran contradictory to everything Yzak knew about war.

Meanwhile, Zane had engaged the Ark in combat, and was attacking with relentless fury.

"I don't know who you are… but you're going down here!" Zane said, firing his thermal cannon at the Ark. Chris pulled the Ark out of the way, using its superior mobility to his advantage. Chris raised his Crepusculum buster rifles and fired back, aiming for the CGUE's thermal cannon.

"Zane! What are you doing?" he yelled. "Now is not the time for this! There's a Cyclops underneath the base!"

Zane chuckled. _"Chris… so you're still alive, after all…"_ he replied. _"I already know about the Cyclops. I knew before this operation even began."_

"What?" Chris said. "Then why are you still here?"

"_Because I refuse to let you get in the way!"_ Zane replied. _"Like I said, you're going down here!"_

Chris scowled. "Fine…" he said. "If you won't see sense, then we'll do things your way!"

Zane fired off his Guul's last salvo of missiles before adding his CGUE's own missiles to the barrage. Chris' eyes narrowed. He couldn't use the buster rifles to shoot them down, even if they were the easiest way to do it… He just couldn't risk Zane getting caught in the blast as well. He stored both rifles in racks next to the Ark's wings and flicked a switch. Panels opened up on either side of the Ark's torso, revealing a pair of three-barreled machine cannons.

Chris let loose with both the machine cannons and the head-mounted Sagittus CIWS, intercepting the missiles before they could even get close. Not willing to give Zane the advantage of the smokescreen, he quickly gunned his thrusters, gaining altitude and going over the smoke cloud. A second later, a beam from Zane's thermal cannon tore through the smokescreen, hitting nothing but the air where the Ark had been flying mere moments earlier.

An alarm quickly sounded in Zane's cockpit, letting him know just where his target had gone. He raised his thermal cannon, only for a whip-like object to wrap around it like a snake. His eyes widened as the Ark's Phase Shift-reinforced heat rod suddenly began to glow a molten red, the superheated, razor-sharp weapon slicing the thermal cannon into five distinct pieces.

Swearing ferociously, Zane drew his rifle and attempted to cut through the Ark's heat rod with its bayonet, but Chris was faster, retracting the weapon back into his shield as the remains of the thermal cannon exploded, throwing Zane's CGUE off-balance. Chris pressed his advantage, charging forward into close combat.

Zane fired off another salvo of missiles from his CGUE's missile pod, but Chris extended the Ark's heat rod and swung the weapon like a whip, slicing through the missiles in a single sweep. Zane swung his rifle-mounted bayonet, but the Ark rolled beneath the strike and swung its heat rod yet again, severing the rifle at its mid-section.

"Damn you, damn you, damn you!" Zane screamed in rage. He released his now-useless rifle and drew his heavy sword. In reply, Chris ejected a handle from a rack on the Ark's right hip and grabbed at it.

A large beam sword ignited as he swung his weapon, the anti-beam coating of Zane's sword not even slowing it down as it sliced cleanly through the solid blade. Spinning, Chris struck again, this time slicing through the legs of Zane's CGUE.

"Just get out of here, Zane!" Chris said. "This isn't worth your life!"

Zane's CGUE fell towards the waters, only to be rescued by a DINN and carried off towards the _Cousteau_.

* * *

Earth Alliance Submarine _Pisces_

Captain Sutherland glanced at his watch. It was almost time. They'd just received word that ZAFT had already breached the main gate and were now storming the base interior. It would only be a matter of time before the base was completely overrun.

He kept his expression carefully neutral, even as a smirk threatened to blossom on his features. The doomed fools had believed him when he'd personally assured them of reinforcements arriving in less than twenty minutes. All they had to do was hold out until then…

The door to the conference room opened, admitting Admiral Jamitov Hymen. All the officers in the room stood and saluted Hymen, who returned the salute smartly, if wearily.

"Sir, ZAFT has already breached the interior," he informed. "It's time."

Hymen nodded and silently took his seat beside Sutherland. On the table was a pair of metal, box-like cases. Wires ran out of them and onto the floor, and a keyhole was on the center of each. Both men pulled out keys and inserted them into the keyholes.

"It is my sincerest wish that this terrible sacrifice will bring a swift end to the war," a solemn and weary Hymen said.

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world," Sutherland added. "Three… two… one."

Both men simultaneously turned the keys… and unleashed hell upon those at JOSH-A.

* * *

JOSH-A

Beneath JOSH-A, the massive Cyclops array roared to life and began its merciless task. The first to feel its effects were the remaining Eurasian soldiers inside the base and the ZAFT forces that were storming the base interior.

Unlike a normal self-destruct system, which would have simply set off preset explosives of some sort and engulfed the base in a massive explosion, the microwave weapon rapidly superheated the munitions and propellants of weapons used by both sides, causing them to explode.

Humans, too, were not spared the effects of the Cyclops. Water in human bodies were quickly heated up, causing them to literally boil from the inside. Those caught in its effects inflated by balloons, though this agonizing process lasted only a few seconds before they, too, exploded.

Those inside the base were the first victims… but they would not be the last. The System would keep going until it reached its critical melting point, destroying both itself and the base.

* * *

The _Archangel_'s Bridge

"Oh no!" Sai said. "They've activated the Cyclops!"

"Engines to maximum! Get us out of here!" Murrue yelled at the top of her lungs.

Arnold didn't need to be told. As soon as Sai had informed them of the Cyclops System's activation, he had pushed the engines into the red zone. The _Archangel_ charged forward as fast as its massive engines could propel it.

* * *

All around the _Archangel_, ZAFT and Earth Alliance forces alike fled the area, trying to escape the Cyclops System's destructive effects. The surviving Earth Forces naval ships tried to flee, but they were overtaken by the Cyclops System and joined the growing number of casualties. Many of the ZAFT mobile suits outside the base managed to flee, but many, too, were not so lucky.

The Guul of a headless GINN near the _Archangel_ exploded, peppering the mobile suit with shrapnel. The pilot screamed as his GINN began to fall, but the Freedom dove in, grabbing hold of the GINN's arm.

"Don't worry, I got you," Kira said, carrying the damaged mobile suit and its pilot away to safety.

By some miracle, the _Archangel_ barely managed to reach safety just moments before the entire base exploded in a massive fireball. The stunned and horrified ZAFT forces didn't even pay the massive warship any attention, too shocked by what they had just witnessed.

* * *

The _Cousteau_

"It… it can't be!" the _Cousteau_'s captain said, horrified at what he'd just seen.

The entire bridge crew of the _Cousteau_ held similar expressions. They couldn't believe that the Earth Forces would do such a thing at their own headquarters.

Beside him, Yzak and Shiho could only stare in shock at what they'd narrowly avoided.

"It seems that we've fallen for the Earth Alliance's trap," Rau said tonelessly before looking away to conceal a smirk that went unnoticed by all but one man.

At the back of the bridge, Falkner let a cold smile blossom on his features, one that matched his mentor's.

"Yes… the Earth Alliance… got us."

* * *

The _Ardenne_'s Bridge

The bridge was buzzing with activity when Diana stepped onto the bridge. Both Lucius and Lee were waiting.

"What's happened?" she asked calmly.

"Spitbreak has failed, just as you expected," Lucius replied bluntly. "The Alliance used a Cyclops System to destroy the base and our forces. Early estimates put the causalities at as low as seventy percent and as high as ninety percent."

Diana swore as she took her seat. Another Cyclops was just used!

"Damn it," she said. "Contact Commander Darlian immediately! I want a full status report on our holdings on Earth! If the Alliance is preparing a counterattack, I want to know where it will happen and when!"

The _Ardenne_'s bridge crew snapped into action, rushing to carry out her orders. A few minutes later, Commander Emil Darlian's face appeared on the bridge's main screen.

"_What, Kessel?"_ he demanded, his tone angry.

"Are the reports true? Did they use a Cyclops at JOSH-A?" Diana asked, keeping both her tone and expression even. This was one man who she wouldn't want in charge of an operation like this; Darlian was in Patrick Zala's pocket.

"_Yes,"_ Darlian grunted. "_They wiped our forces out."_

"What's the status of our remaining forces?" Diana asked.

"_What?_"

"Don't tell me they're just sitting there outside Alaskan waters," Diana said. "If they haven't already started to, tell them to regroup at Carpentaria!"

"_Who do you think you are? You can't order me around! I am in command of this Operation!_"

"Idiot!" Diana said, standing up and glaring at the man. "This Operation is over! We lost! Order the retreat so we can regroup and determine what to do! If you won't, then I will!"

Darlian scowled and closed the comm. line. "Arrogant fool," Diana said as she took her seat once again. "What's the status of our Earth-based forces?"

"From what we can tell, they're fine for now," Lucius said, handing her a personal computer with the initial reports from Earth. "The Alliance hasn't mobilized any forces to attack our bases on Earth yet. But, from the reports coming in, ZAFT is in complete disarray. The entire momentum of the war has changed."

"Indeed, it has," Diana mused, staring at the initial reports. "Our forces have been devastated today. We won't recover from such a blow for a long time… perhaps not until after the war is over. The playing field has been virtually leveled now. The question we need to answer is: what do we do from here?"

* * *

Thirteen Kilometers from the JOSH-A Crater

Kira and Chris had pulled the injured GINN pilot from his damaged mobile suit and laid him out on the beach.

Both teens frowned as they gazed at the pilot's injuries. He was badly wounded, and neither was sure if he was going to survive. A piece of shrapnel had lodged itself in his abdomen, and his breathing was slow and labored as if he had to work to take every breath.

The pilot slowly opened his eyes, looking around unfocused for a few moments before he caught a glimpse of the two teens and their deactivated mobile suits behind him. He focused on the brunet kneeling next to him.

"Were you… the pilots of those… mobile suits?" he asked weakly.

"Yes," Kira replied. "Now, hold on. I'm going to get you some help."

The pilot could only smile sadly at the boy's kindness – so unsuited for a mobile suit pilot in this era – but he already knew his own fate.

"You should have… left me there…" he said, his voice growing weaker. "It would have been… quicker…" He out one last breath before the life drained from his eyes and his body went limp. Death had taken him.

Sorrow filled Kira's amethyst eyes, and his right hand clenched into a fist. With a cry of anger, he slammed it into the ground.

Chris walked up to him, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. He said nothing, but Kira still understood what the other teen wanted to say.

"I know, Chris…" Kira replied, closing his eyes. "I know…"

* * *

ZAFT Headquarters

Aprilius One

Athrun looked around in confusion as he walked into the main lobby. It was bustling with activity – _confused_ activity. People were rushing this way and that, and conversations, while kept as low as possible, were conducted furiously. Athrun couldn't catch anything definite, but what he could make out from the small snippets he overheard told him that the Earth Forces had struck a major blow somewhere.

"What… happened, I wonder…?" Tomoyo asked as she walked up behind Athrun. Her expression was carefully neutral, though her narrowed eyes, while quiet and focused, still radiated some of the pain that was no doubt still eating away at her. Athrun glanced at her right arm, still bandaged and in a sling. He'd have preferred it if he could have gotten a doctor to look at her first… but the Chairman had asked to see them first thing when they arrived at the PLANTs.

"I don't know, but…" Athrun trailed off, noticing someone who might be able to give him the answers to his questions. "Hold on. It's better if we ask someone." He walked towards a ZAFT officer who was heading in their direction, Tomoyo following close behind.

"Commander Yuki!" Athrun called out as he approached the officer, Tomoyo right behind her teammate.

"Athrun Zala and Tomoyo Asahara?" Yuki replied, sounding genuinely surprised. "What are you two doing back here at the PLANTs?"

"I'll tell you," Athrun replied as he looked around, indicating the state of affairs in ZAFT's Headquarters. "But, first, what's going on?"

"Operation Spitbreak seems to have failed," Yuki said. Athrun gasped in surprise. "We don't have the full details yet, but one initial report is saying that… they were annihilated."

"You're kidding," Athrun said. His own thoughts on the other hand, already feared the worst for Yzak, who'd participated in the operation. _'Yzak… you better be alive…'_

Tomoyo's breath caught, concern for her friend and fellow test pilot almost overriding her own fragile control. _'Shiho…'_ she thought. _'Please… be okay…'_

"I'm afraid I have one more piece of bad news for you," Yuki said, leaning in closer, though Tomoyo could still hear Yuki just fine. "Somebody, and we're not sure yet who, stole one of our top secret mobile suits – one of the new ones we were developing. But, it seems that the person who gave him access to it… was Lacus Clyne."

Athrun and Tomoyo both froze at Yuki's words, the former's bag dropping to the floor.

"The National Defense Committee is in a state of panic," Yuki finished.

"It's not… it can't be…" Athrun said, unsure of whether he was trying to convince Yuki or himself that it was all a lie. "I know Lacus… she wouldn't do this!"

* * *

Meanwhile

ZAFT Mobile Suit & Weapons Installation, Aprilius One

Restricted Area – X08A Hangar

"So… are you sure this is the right thing for me to do, milady?" he asked as he sat in the cockpit of the X08A. "I can't leave before my scheduled departure, you know. Orders aside... this power isn't something I can just…"

The person on the other end of the comm. line giggled. _"You look in need of answers,"_ Lacus Clyne replied easily. _"If this sword can help you find what you seek… then let us help you take that first step with it. If you're going to fight, then… you should at least fight for the things you hold precious to your heart. Don't fight for the sake of your orders, but fight for what you believe in."_

He closed his eyes. "That was a wish I had," he said. "I just wanted to protect everyone… But, in the end, I was too weak to do anything. I couldn't save my family before, and now I couldn't even protect the one person who made me feel human again. All I managed to do was cause pain and suffering for others. My wish was all just an ideal. It was a naïve dream. Even now, I can't convince anyone, much less myself… that what I was doing was right… I failed my family, I failed my friends… and I failed even to uphold my own cheap sense of justice."

"_So… isn't that reason enough to keep going?"_

He opened his eyes and looked up at Lacus, who was now regarding him with an intent, mercilessly caring gaze. "Didn't you hear me? I'm…"

Lacus smiled. _"Human, right? Humans make mistakes. There's no way of getting around that,"_ she replied. _"But isn't that all the more reason for you to stand up once again? You can't just give up because you made a mistake in the past."_

"But…" he replied.

"_You're someone who understands what it means to lose something precious,"_ Lacus replied again. _"You know the pain of loss, and thus you fight to keep others from experiencing that same feeling. You want to protect everyone, don't you? There's nothing wrong with that. Even if you failed once, you should keep on trying."_

"So I'm just supposed to go and fight…?" he asked. "Is that it?"

"_That's for you to decide. Just… follow your heart wherever it leads you. I'm sure that your answers are waiting for you to reach out to them."_ His breath caught as Lacus' words struck a resonant chord deep within his heart. _"Once you find them… then you'll know what it is you should do. We're entrusting this sword to you, because we believe you know best what to do with it."_

He remained silent for a moment, letting the words of his longtime friend and confidante sink in. He couldn't fight again… not as he was now… But he couldn't keep running away, either. Eventually, he'd need to face his past _and_ face the future. He was searching for something greater than strength… even when he was at his worst, even when the nightmares were too painful, he never stopped searching.

Even right now, when the weight of his failures were threatening to crush him, he found that single overriding purpose for living still there, pulsing strongly in his heart.

He closed his eyes. Lacus, as always, was right. He had to find his own answers, not merely the answers given to him by others.

"All right…" he said quietly. "I'll believe in those words… just as you believe in me. I won't ever betray that trust."

"_I see… Have faith in yourself,"_ Lacus replied. _"Kira will most likely be heading for Orb. I think talking to him would do you some good. Your orders are already in place in ZAFT's mainframe, so don't worry about things back here. Just focus on what lies ahead."_

"I will… Lady Lacus," he replied, giving a slight smile as the line cut off.

He closed his eyes. "Thank you…" he whispered. "Thank you for believing in me even when I am at my weakest…"

It was time to go. There was no more time for doubt. He opened his eyes, feeling a newfound spirit coursing through him.

"This is ZGMF-X08A Innocence, launching!"

* * *

**Author's Note: You liked that? I hope you did, because it took a lot of work to finally churn out.**

**The Battle of Alaska finally let me introduce my first original NJC-equipped mobile suit, so I hope you all enjoyed that. Hopefully it didn't steal Kira's spotlight… That was the one thing that really made writing this a pain, to be perfectly honest.**

**Anyways, we also have a mysterious pilot talking with Lacus before taking off in yet another of ZAFT's NJC mobile suits. Who knows what he's going to do with? Well… I do, of course, but I'd rather not divulge that information just yet.**

**Well, that's all from me for now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review to let me know what you think! Thanks in advance to those who do!**

**Ja ne, minna-san!**

* * *

**The Descending Sword** Mecha Spec Page

"_I think I understand now… what it is you stand for, and what it is I should be doing. That's right… Together, we'll fight for peace and for the sake of those who are depending on us!"_ – Christopher "Chris" Dante, after being entrusted with the Ark

**ZGMF-X06A Ark Gundam  
**Description:  
The Ark Gundam is ZAFT's first prototype Gundam unit, developed using technical and combat data from taken from the stolen Earth Alliance prototypes. This advanced mobile suit was designed with versatility in mind, and thus carries a wide array of weapons – most prominent of which are its powerful buster rifles, large beam sword, and shield-mounted heat rod – that allow it to respond to a wide range of combat situations. However, the Ark's most defining feature is its revolutionary ZERO System, an advanced tactical interface system that links the pilot's mind with the mobile suit's computer to receive direct tactical, sensory, and battle data. The Ark was entrusted by Siegel Clyne to Christopher Dante, who launched alongside Kira Yamato and the Freedom in order to fight for his beliefs and to protect the people he held close to his heart.

**Model number:** ZGMF-X06A**  
Code name:** Ark Gundam**  
Unit type:** prototype assault mobile suit**  
Manufacturer:** Integrated Design Bureau**  
Operator(s):** ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty); Three Ships Alliance**  
First deployment:** May 5, C.E. 71**  
Accommodation:** pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso**  
Dimensions:** overall height 17.98 meters**  
Weight:** max gross weight 77.21 metric tons**  
Armor materials:** unknown**  
Powerplant:** ultracompact nuclear fission reactor, power output rated at 8826 kW**  
Equipment and design features:** sensors, range unknown; Phase Shift (PS) Armor; Neutron Jammer Canceler; ZERO (Zoning and Emotional Range Omitted) System**  
Fixed armaments:** 2 x MA-M01 "Lacerta" beam saber, stored in shoulder armor, hand-carried in use, can be combined  
MA-X100F "Gladius" large-type beam sword, directly powered by generator via cable, stored in rack on right hip armor, hand-carried in use  
2 x MMI-GAU1 "Sagittus" 20mm CIWS, fire-linked, mounted in head  
2 x MMI-GAU4W multi-barrel machine cannon, fire-linked, mounted on torso  
**Optional fixed armaments:** MA-MV10W composite armed shield system mounted on left forearm, mounts 2 x beam saber, Phase Shift (PS) serrated heat rod, retractable**  
Optional hand armaments:** 2 x MA-M00W0 "Crepusculum" buster rifle, power rating unknown, can be combined into twin buster rifle  
**Pilot:** Christopher Dante

**Appearance:** The Ark resembles the Wing Gundam Katoki, minus the gem-like object in its chest (just imagine that the chest is closed, and the gem completely hidden). Its shield is essentially a combination of the shield of the EW versions of Wing Gundam and Gundam Epyon (it's a Master Grade model kit, so it'll be simpler if you just look it up). It has the Epyon's beam sword mounted in the same fashion, while its buster rifles resemble the rifles of the Proto Wing Gundam Zero recently revealed as a Master Grade model kit.

**Colors: **Essentially, its colors follow the color scheme of the Wing Gundam Katoki, but with a darker shade of blue. The beam sword's handle is instead white, while the shield uses the shade of red seen on the Wing Gundam's own shield. The heat rod is still black.

**Notes:** Okay, surprised to see the power this thing's packing? Good. You should be. This occurrence of me giving Chris a mobile suit like this was not originally planned… but, eventually, I decided to do this just because I thought it would make more sense than if he used the Raven for the entire story. The ZERO System is the exact same system as we're all familiar with, though its effects are slightly toned down. That said, it hasn't been activated at all in this fight, and will only be used two times throughout the rest of the story. And, if anyone says the ZERO System is a Game Breaker… well, PM me and we can have a nice discussion there.


End file.
